Beautiful Flames
by Mabis
Summary: Postseries fic There are still goals Roy feels he must achieve, and some of them carry a cost too high to pay. However, he never could make calm decisions when it came to the Elric brothers.
1. Chapter 1: The Letter

Author's notes: This fic is set immediately after the series, but ignores the movie. Thus, obviously, spoilers for the entire series. This fic has no pairings, implied or otherwise. Finally, no, I don't own any of the characters. I just amuse myself by playing with them.

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"I am not after you two because I was ordered to. It is because I am angry with the two of you. Why did you flee, without seeking my protection!"

-Roy Mustang, episode 43

Chapter 1: The Letter

Alphonse Elric had been home from training barely a month when he received a letter from Central Headquarters. The return address indicated it was from Colonel Roy Mustang, a name he heard Winry and Auntie Pinako mention several times in connection with his lost years as a walking suit of armor. As to what they said about him, Al could tell they both had mixed feelings about the Colonel. Auntie Pinako would say how Mustang manipulated Ed for his own gain, but then would counter that by mentioning he was trying to protect the brothers. Winry hardly ever mentioned him, and seemed generally uncomfortable when Mustang was mentioned. The one time Al asked her about it, she refused to talk about it and quickly changed the subject.

The only other contact Al had with Roy Mustang was from a letter he received from the Colonel, not long after he regained his body. It was a general and polite letter, asking if Al knew anything about Edward, how he was doing with his restored body and erased memory, and finally asked for a picture of himself. Al responded politely enough, even sending a recent picture, but didn't get into any specifics.

In short, Al had no real idea who Roy Mustang was. It frustrated him that everyone knew more about his recent past than he did, and this part seemed especially aggravating. Not remembering events was one thing, but Al hated the fact he completely forgot who so many people were.

Thus, Al was quite surprised when he read Mustang's recent letter.

_Alphonse Elric,_

_I am glad to hear you are back from training. If you do not mind, I would like to ask you to set off on another journey, this time to see me in Central. There are some things I want to show you in regards to your years as a suit of armor, and I believe they will be of great interest to you. I may also be able to offer some assistance in your search for your brother Edward, as I understand he is still lost._

_Please come at your earliest convenience, and I look forward to meeting you in Central._

_Best Regards,_

Colonel Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist 

"I don't want you going over there, chances are he'll want to turn you into a State Alchemist," Auntie Pinako said as soon as Al mentioned Mustang's invitation to Central. "Your brother went through so much trouble because he was a State Alchemist, and I don't want you to have to go through the same thing."

"But I already went through all that," Al protested. "I was with him during that time and it couldn't have been too bad. Besides, there's no mention about becoming a State Alchemist. This is just a request for a visit."

"That man is not one to give up information so easily," Pinako shot back. "Do you think you can just go up to Central Headquarters and go through their files without any kind of military association?"

"I'm not planning to go through military files, I just want to talk to the Colonel and find out what he knows."

"Then before you know it he'll have talked you into becoming a State Alchemist. This is a bad idea, Alphonse, and I don't want you meeting that man."

Al exploded. "I'll do whatever I want to learn about my past and find my brother, even if it means becoming a State Alchemist!" He then turned and stormed out the room and up the stairs.

Al sat fuming in his room. Here was an excellent chance to learn more about his past, and possibly get a little closer to finding out what happened to his brother, and Auntie Pinako shot it down as soon as she heard it. Why was she so against him becoming a State Alchemist in the first place? State Alchemists had access to virtually all of the country's documents about alchemy, and they were given generous government grants to study whatever they wanted. More importantly, didn't she know how important it was to him to find his brother? All his training, all his studying, everything he had done during the past year was to get closer to finding Ed.

He picked up the letter and scanned it once again. This could very well be the key Al was looking for all this time. Determination began to well up in him, and he quickly made his decision.

"I am going to do whatever it takes to find my brother, no matter what anyone says." With that, he pulled his suitcase from under his bed, and began throwing in some clothes, a few books and anything else he needed. He had a feeling he wouldn't be back for a long while.

"All aboard the 10:15 train to Central City! The train will be leaving in six minutes!"

The connecting train to Central City was much more crowded than the one he left Risenboul on, thus it took a while before Al found an empty seat. He tried to get as comfortable as he could once he sat down, since train rides usually left him a little sore. A few more people wandered into the car, but most just ignored him, or else gave him a passing smile. There was one old woman, however, who stopped next to Al and mentioned how brave he must be for riding a train all alone while he was still such a young child. She smiled at him and walked off before Al could say anything. He didn't quite get what the old lady was talking about until he looked at his hands and was reminded of how young he looked. Even though he was sixteen, he still had the body of an eleven year old. Al sighed as he leaned back in his seat. This problem was going to be with him for a while.

As the train pulled out of the station, Al gazed out the window and watched as the town grew thinner and thinner, until there was nothing but countryside, dotted with the occasional farm. He soon got tired of the blurred scenery, and let his mind wander back to the events that happened earlier that day.

Al came down the stairs earlier than usual that morning. He was wearing blue denim pants, a black undershirt, a white button down shirt he left open, and was holding his green coat and suitcase. He looked like a normal eleven year old, perhaps a little on the tall side. His golden hair was cut short, and his gray eyes showed his determination. Perfectly normal, except for the fact that he was really sixteen.

"What are you doing with that suitcase?" Auntie Pinako asked as soon as she saw Al.

"I'm going to Central to meet Roy Mustang," Al replied in a firm voice.

Pinako sighed and took a breath from her pipe. "You're getting just as stubborn as your brother."

Auntie Pinako wasn't really Al and Ed's aunt, but she was their parental figure for a good portion of their life. When Winry's parents were killed in the war when she was still little, it was up to her grandmother, Pinako, to look after her. Then when Al and Ed's mother died a year later and there was still no word from their absent father, Pinako looked after them as well. She was a short, somewhat stout woman, who had a hands-off method of parenting. She would give her advice, sigh as it was promptly ignored, but was there for them once the children learned their lesson the hard way.

This time was no different, and she merely made sure Al ate a good breakfast before he left.

Al was about to open the front door when he heard Winry run down the steps.

"You wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to me, now would you?" she said once she reached Al. "Come on, I'll walk you to the station."

The two headed out once Al was finished saying his final goodbye to Pinako and Den. It was a late spring morning, a little cooler than it had previously been. It was quiet, just like it always was in Risenboul. It was one of the things Al always liked about the village. There were always plenty of places to run around and play without worry of cars or strangers, or anything else for that matter. Everyone at least knew of each other, and Al tried his best to be friendly with everyone. Al realized how much he would miss that while he was in Central.

As they passed the old stone wall where he, Ed, and Winry played on when they were children, Al got a sudden rush of memories. He remembered them all laughing and chasing each other around, happy as ever. That was when they were all still innocent, when nobody had died yet, when they could just be kids without a care in the world. Then Winry's parents were killed in the Ishbal war, then his own mother died, then he and Ed attempted the ultimate taboo, human transmutation, and paid the price for it. Al sighed as he walked on, knowing that they could never go back to that time.

"Promise me something, Al," Winry said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, what is it?" Al replied as he was brought back to the present.

"Promise me you'll tell me what happens during your trip."

Al nodded his head. "Of course I'll tell you."

"Good. The thing I hated most about Ed is that he never told me anything. When something happened to him, especially something bad or dangerous, it was nearly impossible for me to get him to say anything about it."

Al paused for a moment in thought. "Well, maybe he wouldn't tell you because he knew it would just worry you."

Al realized too late that that was the wrong thing to say.

"What do you mean he didn't want to make me worry! Didn't he know that not telling me just made me worry anyway! Besides, I would've handled it just fine!" With that, Winry turned and stormed ahead. "And remember, you promised me!" she yelled back at him.

Al made a mental note to keep his promise as much as he possibly could.

At the train station, Al made sure he had all the right information on which train to transfer to, then stood next to Winry.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Winry asked.

"I'll be fine," Al replied, smiling.

"Okay, just don't do anything really stupid." She got up and gave him a hug, then pushed him toward the train. "Better hurry up before you miss it!"

"Bye Winry! I'll make sure to write!" Al yelled just before he boarded the train. It was mostly empty, so he didn't have a problem finding a seat where he could still see Winry. He shouted one last goodbye to her, and watched her wave from the station as the train pulled out, he figure getting smaller and smaller, until Al could no longer see her.

The train whistle woke Al from his thoughts. They were crossing a major road that lead into Central, and Al could see the big city not too far away. It seemed to spread out forever, and even here at the outskirts there was constant activity. Al had been to Newbrook, the small city closest to Risenboul, a few times, and was always impressed by how busy it always was. Central, however, dwarfed Newbrook by at least ten times, maybe even a hundred. Cars and people were everywhere, and there was a constant noise that hung over everything. As he passed what could have been the twentieth tall office building, Al began to notice the different smells of the city. Everything was so different, it was as if he had arrived at a whole new planet.

"Well, this is it," he said to himself as the train came to a stop in Central Station. His stomach, which had been calm throughout the train ride, started to act up, and Al realized how nervous he was. Taking a deep breath, Al followed the crowd off the train, and it was only when he got on the platform did he realize he had no idea what Roy Mustang looked like.


	2. Chapter 2: A Reunion

Chapter 2: A Reunion

Colonel Roy Mustang looked at the small photo of Alphonse Elric once again as he waited inside Central Station. The bright, intelligent, caring boy he saw in the photo seemed almost completely opposite from the imposing suit of armor Al's soul was trapped in for so many years.

"The 1:45 train from Eastburg will be arriving at Platform C. The 1:45 train from Eastburg will be arriving at Platform C," announced the public address system in an overly polite female voice.

That was the boy's train, Mustang thought, now to find him in the crowd of people getting off.

Being a soldier taught him to scan and identify large amounts of data at a time, thus it would have been easy for Mustang to pick out someone in a large crowd. However, after several minutes there was still no sign of Alphonse, and the train looked to be almost empty. He must be nervous if he's taking so long, Mustang reasoned, quite a difference from his older brother, who would've been one of the first people off the train. Finally he spotted a golden haired boy wearing a green coat and carrying a suitcase stepping off the train, looking around and looking a little lost.

"Alphonse Elric?" he said while approaching the boy. "I am Colonel Roy Mustang. I know you don't remember me, but I played a fairly important role in your life." He then gave him a small but genuine smile, something he hadn't done in a long, long while.

Al looked up and saw a man of about average height, with black hair and black eyes. He was wearing the standard blue uniform of the army, his shoulder insignia identifying his rank of Colonel. The thing Al noticed most, though, was the scar below Mustang's left eye. "You wrote to me saying you had information about my past and that you could help me find my brother," Al asked more than replied.

Mustang could hear the nervousness in Al's voice, despite the boy's attempt to hide it. "Yes, I can give you the information you want, but first let's head back to my office. I have a car waiting for us." He turned and began walking to the station exit, watching Al follow him from the corner of his eye.

First Lieutenant Hawkeye was waiting for them when they reached the car.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, this is Alphonse Elric. You remember him, don't you?" Mustang said as he gently pushed Al forward.

The woman bent down to get closer to eye level with the boy. "I'm pleased to meet you again. This body fits you a lot better than that imposing armor body you had last time I saw you." She smiled warmly to Al, and Mustang could see some of his nervousness fade.

The three then got into the car, with Al and Mustang in the backseat. As they were driving to Central Headquarters, Mustang felt a headache form, but tried his best to ignore it. Instead, he watched Al with some amusement as the boy looked out the windows, absorbing the city as it passed by them, his eyes filled with curiosity and amazement.

Once they got to Mustang's office, he introduced Al to the rest of his staff. There was Second Lieutenant Havoc, a tall man who always kept a cigarette in his mouth, Second Lieutenant Breda, a short stocky man with a slightly unkempt appearance, Warrant Officer Falman, an older man, and finally Sergeant Major Fury, who wore glasses and looked younger than he was. All of them said hello to Al, smiling and sometimes making a polite comment when they saw his restored body.

Mustang could see the confusion and even frustration begin to form on Al's face. Understandable, he thought, since the boy was meeting so many people that knew him, yet he didn't remember anything about them. He then ushered Al over to his desk, and the two sat down across from each other.

"About the information you said you could give me," Al began.

"Unfortunately it's not that simple, Alphonse," Mustang replied. "Yes, I could tell you what I remember about your past, and your brother, provided it doesn't fall under classified restriction. However, if you were willing to wait a while, you could gain access to not only everything I know, but everything your brother knew, too."

Al paused for a second before replying. "You want me to become a State Alchemist, like my brother, don't you?"

Mustang managed a smirk. "The decision is completely up to you, of course. If you were to take the test, however, I have full confidence that you would pass. You succeeded in the written segment of the test when you first took it with your brother."

"If I have to become a State Alchemist in order to find my brother, then that's what I'll do," Al immediately replied, his eyes full of determination.

"Then you better start studying, because the national exam is coming up in a few months. But first we must get you settled in the best place for your studies." He watched Al carefully and added, "You will be staying with me."

"You?" Al replied in shock. It took him a second to regain his composure before continuing. "I mean, um, thank you for letting me stay with you."

"I still have all my alchemy books from when I studied for the national exam, I'm sure you'll find them useful." He then stood up and said, "Come along, I will take you home so you can unpack and begin your studies immediately."

Lieutenant Hawkeye drove them the short distance to Mustang's house. Once there, she pulled up next to the house and stayed with the car while the two went inside.

Mustang was a bachelor living alone, and he did not have the time or patience to deal with space he didn't need. Therefore, having one of the smaller houses on the street suited him just fine. However, his reluctance for housekeeping also meant he never had a guest room. In its place he had a messy spare room filled with whatever junk he couldn't be bothered to deal with, hardly a place for a boy to stay in. Thus he went to considerable lengths to clean up and convert the room into a fairly comfortable bedroom Al would feel welcome in. Not that he would ever admit this to anyone.

As soon as Al got settled in the spare room-turned-guest room, Mustang showed him the library.

"This is the library, where you will be spending most of your time in," Mustang said as he opened the door and turned on the lights.

The lights revealed a room crowded with books. The walls were covered with bookshelves that ran to the ceiling, and two more were in the center of the room, on both sides of a desk. The bookcases themselves were loaded, some books even stored on top of the usual row of books. There were also stacks of books that littered the room, and even the desk had books piled on top of it.

"Excuse the clutter, but there should be enough here to keep you busy for a while. If you need any other books, tell me and I will pick them up at the Central Library." Mustang looked over at Al, and saw him wide-eyed in amazement. It only lasted a moment, however, and soon Al walked over to the desk, picked up the first book he saw, and began reading with intensity.

"I will be back in a few hours." Mustang continued. "If you get hungry, help yourself to whatever you find in the kitchen."

"Okay," Al absentmindedly replied, still focusing on his book.

Mustang then left the boy to study, closing the door behind him. He knew Al would study long and hard for the exam, and that he would pass without much problem. However, that issue was perhaps the furthest from his mind.

"They say living with someone is the best way to find out about them," Mustang mused to himself as he left his house. "If that is true, the next few months with Alphonse should be very interesting."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?" Hawkeye asked on the way back to Headquarters.

"We all know what happened last time I entrusted the Elric brothers to someone else, and I will not repeat that mistake," Mustang replied, referring to when the Elric brothers stayed with Tucker, a desperate and deranged man who turned his own wife and daughter into chimeras. "Besides," he continued, his voice now softer, "He no longer has his brother for support."

Mustang went straight home once his business at the office was done. He was thankful he didn't have a date that night, and even if he did he would've sent Havoc in his place. Generally speaking, Mustang would rather read about prehistoric mold than go on dates, which usually involved watching a god awful romantic comedy play with some girl he really didn't care for. But he had an image to keep up, and there was always the small chance of finding an interesting girl, so he usually accepted any request for a date.

Now that he had Alphonse living with him, however, he had the perfect excuse to decline going out. Sitting through dates was hard enough as it is; there was no way he'd be able to do it knowing Al was already home alone for most of the day.

When Mustang did get home, Al was still sitting at the desk, reading a book. The only thing different was the larger amount of books scattered around him, and notes were now taking up whatever space was left.

"I'm back," Mustang said once he finished a quick survey of the room.

Al looked a little startled as he raised his head. "Oh, um, hello."

"I see you made some progress. You may continue studying while I make dinner. I'll call you when it's ready." He then left, keeping the door open.

The last time Mustang cooked for two was several years ago, when his best friend Maes Hughes, still a bachelor back then, would sometimes come over, usually for no reason at all. Then Maes got married, a daughter soon followed, and it was Mustang who would come over to the Hughes house for a visit and a meal.

But that was long ago. Maes was dead, and Mustang could rarely bring himself to visit the Hughes residence long enough for dinner. And right now Mustang figured Al was starving, since the boy was probably way to engrossed in his studies to remember to eat anything while he was gone.

"So, what did you study today?" Mustang asked when the two sat down for dinner.

Al looked up from his food. "Oh, um, first I started on general oxygen mutation theory, but that soon led to water particle transmutation study. After a while that led to basic crystal formation and decomposition, and I studied that until you came home."

"Sounds like you made some progress," Mustang replied with little interest, and made no motion to further the discussion.

After a few moments of silence Al spoke up again. "How did you get that scar?" he said, referring to the scar below the Colonel's left eye.

"Do not concern yourself with such matters until after you complete the exam," he replied coldly, not looking at him.

Al looked a little shocked by the harshness, and they finished the meal in silence.

After dinner, Mustang instructed Al to study for a few more hours before bed. Once the boy was back in the library, he sat down in the living room and began reading his own book, this one the latest fiction title. It wasn't the most intelligent thing he could be reading, and there were other, more productive things he could be doing, but at this point in the day Mustang usually just wanted to be entertained.

It was after ten when Mustang finally put away his book, and Al still had not emerged from the library. He figured this would be the case, since he knew Al was incredibly tenacious when it came to alchemy. The boy would study until he fell asleep on the book he was reading if Mustang would let him.

"That's enough for today," Mustang said as he stood in the doorway to the library. "You can continue what you're working on first thing in the morning."

"Okay," he replied as he put down his book and stood to stretch.

"I usually have breakfast at seven thirty, right before I leave for the day. Try not to be late."

Al nodded, and Mustang left the doorway, listening to the library door close, then the guest room door close. He wanted to make sure Al went to bed, at least for the first night.

As he went to his own bedroom, Mustang figured he and Al got along fairly well, considering it was the first time the boy ever remembered seeing him. When Al was still in his armor body, Mustang never directly talked with him much, instead using Edward as a go between of sorts. It wasn't until Ed was gone that he realized what a mistake that was. Now, however, they would be living together for at least a few months, and Mustang figured that would be plenty of time to correct that mistake.


	3. Chapter 3: The Mechanical Toy

Chapter 3: The Mechanical Toy

The next few months followed the same pattern. Mustang would get up, get dressed, and then make breakfast. Al would stumble in from his room about then, although sometimes he had to wake the boy. After they were done eating, he would go to his office for the day, while Al went to the library to study. When Mustang got home, he would check on Al, make dinner, and the two would eat without much discussion. In the evening, Al was back in the library for a few more hours, while Mustang did his best to be unproductive for the rest of the day, with varying success. Even during Mustang's days off things weren't much different. Al continued to study in the library while he ran whatever errands needed to get done.

Even though they did not talk much, Mustang could feel Al getting more comfortable around him. The silences during dinner were becoming less awkward, and Al seemed less hesitant when speaking to him. Perhaps it was just the familiarity of being with someone for a while, but that was good enough for now. He would wait on getting to know the boy better until after he passed the national exam and became a State Alchemist. Al had enough to worry about with studying as it is.

Finally, the first day of the National Qualification Exam arrived.

"I will be there to help administer the test, but I will not be able to talk to you or any of the other candidates," Mustang said during breakfast. "The written part of the test starts promptly at ten, so be sure to get there early. Should I send a car to get you?"

Al shook his head. "No thanks, I'll be fine walking, since Headquarters isn't far away."

Mustang managed a small smile. "In order to burn off some of that nervous energy, I assume." He then stood up and got ready to leave. When he got to the front door, he turned around and looked directly at Al. "I will not wish you good luck, because you don't need any. Remember what you have learned, and I know you will pass the test." With that, he opened the front door and walked out, closing the door behind him.

At 9:50am, Mustang entered the examination room. He saw a few people already seated, and a few more hovering at the entrance and around the aisles. He quickly frowned, not seeing Al among those already present. A minute later he finally saw the boy enter the room, eyes a little wide as he quickly found a place to sit. Mustang saw another candidate approach Al and begin to talk, but he was too far away to make out the words. Suddenly Al shook his head and said something, and that was enough for the other candidate to go back to his seat.

More than anything the other candidate was probably asking if Al wanted to be the next Fullmetal Alchemist, Mustang thought, and he was even surer that Al was explaining that the legendary Alchemist was his brother. Then again, Al looked so young; it was almost inevitable that people would compare him to that other boy who took the test when he was still a child.

A few minutes later the gravel struck and the test began. Mustang had to watch for any signs of cheating, but every once in a while he would look at Al. The boy was fully engrossed in the test, sometimes writing something down, sometimes just sitting and thinking.

Mustang figured Al would be exhausted after the test, so earlier that day he arranged for Hawkeye to pick up the boy once the test was over and drive him home. Seeing Al stumble out of the room confirmed how tired he was, but it also told Mustang that the boy poured everything he had into the test. He smiled, and knew that not only did Al pass, but also the boy would probably hold one of the highest scores when the results were released the next day.

When Mustang returned to his office, he was fairly surprised that Hawkeye wasn't back from dropping Al off at home. When she did get back, it was almost half an hour later.

"I got Alphonse something to eat before taking him home," Hawkeye replied to Mustang's questioning look. "I figured he would be hungry after the test and too tired to make something for himself when he got home. After that I took him home, and I went in with him to make sure he was all right. Before I left he was already asleep on the couch."

Mustang nodded, and gave her an appreciative smile only she could see.

"Also," Hawkeye added with a more serious tone, "The General dropped by while you were gone and requested that you finish the quarterly report and have it on his desk by tomorrow morning."

His mood immediately soured as he felt a headache form. "Damn it, I told the General yesterday that I'd have the report ready by the end of the week. Why does he need it now all of a sudden?" He looked at the rather large file on his desk, sighed, and took some aspirin from the bottle he always kept on hand. This would be a long day.

By some small miracle, Mustang had most of the report done when he left the office for the day, thus he didn't have too much to take home with him. Under normal circumstances he would've just stayed until he finished, but he wanted to see how Al was doing after his exam.

When he got home, the first thing he noticed was that Al was no longer asleep on the couch. Instead, he was back in the library reading a book.

"I thought you would've had enough studying by now," Mustang said as he stood in the doorway.

Al looked up. "Oh, I wasn't sure about a few answers, so I wanted to look them up and see if I got them right. I'm not really finding anything yet, though."

"You should know that will do you no good. The test is over with, and you did your best. There's no point in looking back and worrying about how you answered each question. Now put down that book, and I forbid you to be in this library for the remainder of the exam."

Al looked at him for a second before putting down his book and getting up from the desk.

"I have some fiction books in the living room if you care to read those." He then turned and left the doorway, adding "I'll call you when dinner is ready." As he walked away, he heard Al leave the room and close the door behind him.

After dinner, Mustang sighed as he sat down at his desk to finish his quarterly report. He especially hated these, since the military wanted full status and progress reports of just about everything under his command. Never mind that not a whole lot had changed since the last quarterly report.

Not long after he sat down, he noticed Al approach him.

"Um, I can help you with that, if you want."

"And let a civilian handle classified information? I don't think so." Mustang turned back to his work. "Go rest, Alphonse, you still have two more parts of the exam to complete, and those can be just as difficult as the written test."

"Oh, okay then," Al said, then turned and walked away. Mustang idly noted that Al was walking towards the guest room and not the living room.

Not long after Al left the room, Mustang's head started aching again. Damn it, he thought to himself as he pulled out his bottle of aspirin, this was going to be a long night as well.

"There should be a messenger from Headquarters coming for you later this afternoon," Mustang said before he left for work the next morning.

"Is it about the test results?" Al eagerly asked.

Mustang remained silent. "Remember to keep out of the library today," he finally said. "The interview portion of the exam will take place tomorrow, you'll be notified of the time." He then turned and left.

Almost as soon as Mustang sat down at his desk someone from the General's office was asking for the quarterly report. At least the damn thing was over with, he thought as he handed over the report. The rest of the day dragged on, partially because he just handed in what he meant to work on that day, and partially because he was wondering how Al would react to the news he passed the written exam. Finally Mustang gave up on attempting to look productive and went home early.

When he got home, he saw Al sitting on the couch in the living room, reading a letter. "Is that from the messenger from this afternoon?" he asked.

Al nodded with enthusiasm. "Yeah, and it says I passed. Not only that, but I got the third highest grade on the written exam." He grinned, and showed Mustang the letter.

Mustang took the letter, quickly read it, and gave it back. "Congratulations, Alphonse. That's even better than when you first took the exam. I see your interview is scheduled for mid-morning tomorrow. Normally I am there in the room, but since you are living with me, I will not be present."

"Why is that?"

A smirk formed on Mustang's face. "Because they already know my opinion about you." He watched Al's surprised face for a second, then turned and headed towards the kitchen to make dinner.

Mustang spent most of the next day observing interviews of the remaining applicants. As with every year, most of the interview replies followed a distinct pattern. The applicant wanted to use alchemy for the good of the people, they wanted to dedicate their lives to alchemy, they would never harm someone using alchemy unless they absolutely had to, and so on. He would never admit it, but Mustang figured he wasn't the only one bored by all the stock answers, and boring the judges was never a good thing.

Finally it was Al's turn to be interviewed. Mustang was asked to leave the room, since there was some concern he would influence Al's answers, either deliberately or unconsciously. He was able to just barely hear Al's interview while on the other side of the door, however, and he smiled at what he heard. Al did not give a standard answer during the entire interview, but more importantly, his replies were almost the same as his brother's, which Mustang heard five years ago.

When Mustang got home, he saw Al in the living room again, this time reading one of the fiction books laying around.

"How did the interview go, Alphonse?"

Al looked up from his book. "Um, I think it went well."

"Were you told that the practical section of the exam would be at nine tomorrow morning?"

Al nodded.

Mustang let out a small smile. "That's usually a good thing." He didn't tell him that everyone who passed the written section went on to both the interview and the practical test, since the final judging took both sections into consideration for the final result. But, he figured Al could use some encouragement after the barrage of questions that often felt more like an interrogation than an interview. He paused as Al grinned, then continued. "The practical section of the exam consists of transmuting something in front of the judges, using only the materials provided. I will be there to help make sure things go smoothly, but once again I will not be able to talk to you or the other candidates. Since the practical test starts early, you may leave with me tomorrow morning if you wish."

"Won't that make me early for the test?"

"A little early, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Besides, you can use that time to think about what you will do for the practical test." Mustang then left the room, not telling Al that he planned to leave later than usual tomorrow.

Promptly at nine the next morning, Mustang was standing in the marching grounds, which held plenty of various raw materials for the day's practical test. The first few candidates did not produce anything spectacular, but later on he did take note of one woman who transmuted water and dirt into a brick wall. After that Al walked up and began to draw his transmutation circle. Mustang kept his grin to himself as he waited to be amazed by whatever Al was going to make.

After Al was done drawing his circle, he piled some dirt on top of it. As soon as he put his hands on the circle, the familiar blue sparks Mustang always saw when Al transmuted something started to fly. The object soon took shape, in what appeared to be two figures standing near something large. It quickly became more defined, and in seemingly no time, Mustang was looking at a rather large, extremely detailed toy, depicting a young Al about ready to push a young Ed on a swing, the swing hanging from a tree. However, Al wasn't done. He turned what looked like a key in the back, and then suddenly the toy began to move. The young Al moved forward, touched the young Ed on the back, then the young Ed swung forward. Then both figures moved back, and the cycle repeated itself.

"I don't believe this!" one of the judges said once the cycle went around a few more times. "My son has a large collection of mechanical toys, but I've never seen anything this detailed, or anything moving this smoothly! The clockwork inside must be extremely well constructed!"

As the others were marveling at the toy, Mustang looked at Al, who seemed a little embarrassed at all the praise, and smiled. He no longer had any doubt that Al would eventually be reunited with his brother, and he had a feeling that day was not far off.

Al wasn't on the couch when Mustang came home that evening, which mildly surprised him. Instead, Al was in the guest room, seated at the small table writing something, probably a letter.

"I have some good news for you, Alphonse" he said, catching Al's attention. "You passed the national qualifying exam, and will become a National Alchemist."

Al's face broke into a wide grin, and Mustang knew he had made the right decision to tell Al he passed before the results were released. That the boy had done enough to pass was obvious, but more than anything, he wanted to be the one to tell Al the good news.

"The results will not be made official until tomorrow, however, and by that time the judges will be done studying your practical test result. I can give it back to you by then, if you want."

"That would be great, if it's not too much trouble," Al replied, still smiling.

"You made it, Alphonse, so you should have it." Mustang let out a barely noticeable smile, then left the room.

He had to admit that he thought about taking Al somewhere, perhaps to dinner, perhaps to a play, to celebrate his accomplishment. He soon dropped the idea, however, because passing the qualifying exam was only the first step in what was sure to be a long, difficult road, and there was no point in celebrating until the end.


	4. Chapter 4: Bringing Back the Past

Chapter 4: Bringing Back the Past

The next morning, Al came to breakfast looking especially eager. "Now that I'm a State Alchemist, when can I go to Headquarters and get my brother's old reports?"

Mustang had to grin at the boy's determination. "First of all, you are not a State Alchemist yet. As I said last night, the results will not be finalized until later today. Second, it will take some time for me to pull up all of Edward's files. Therefore, I ask that you wait until tomorrow to begin your search."

"Tomorrow?" Al asked, obviously disappointed.

"You waited this long for that information, I'm sure you can handle another twenty-four hours. However, tomorrow I will spend the day with you, and answer any questions you might have." He looked at him carefully, and added, "I have a lot to tell you, Alphonse."

As he said he would, Mustang spent the day tracking down and retrieving all of Ed's reports, as well as anything else relating to him. He had to pull a few strings to obtain some of the more sensitive information, such as that pertaining to the Fifth Laboratory incident, and other stuff was simply buried in the system because it was either obscure or years in the past, and sometimes both. On top of all that, Mustang was battling the worst headache he had in weeks, and even taking extra aspirin seemed to do little to ease the pain.

By the end of the day, however, Mustang was somewhat surprised at all the information he was able to gather. Ed had been in the army for less than four years and had already accumulated more files than most people did in their entire military careers. Of course, Ed usually managed to attract an amazing amount of trouble wherever he went. Mustang looked at the tall stacks of papers and figured it would take Al at least a week to go through all that information.

Before he went home that day, Mustang made sure to pick up the mechanical toy Al made for his practical exam from the State Alchemist Office. He also requested Al's silver pocket watch, granted to those who became State Alchemists. He figured Al would appreciate receiving it tonight, rather than waiting until tomorrow morning.

When Mustang came home, Al was back to sitting on the couch in the living room. He was pouring over what had to be the official results of his exam, as they were delivered to each remaining candidate earlier that day.

"I see you are now officially a State Alchemist, Alphonse," Mustang said, putting down Al's mechanical toy on the coffee table. "You should know that you were the only one who passed this year."

Al's eyes grew wide in amazement. "Really?"

He nodded once before changing the subject. "Normally you would wait until tomorrow to receive this, but I assumed you might want it as soon as possible." He reached into his pocket and took out Al's silver watch, then handed it to the boy. "Congratulations, Alphonse, now you too are a dog of the military."

Al looked over the watch carefully. "Anything to get my brother back," he said without looking up.

While they were eating dinner that night, Mustang noticed Al fidgeting, obviously stalling on something.

"So, um, how did you get that scar?" Al finally asked.

"For right now I will tell you that I was shot in the face, which resulted in a minor stroke. Once you find out more about your past, however, I will tell you what only one other person in the world knows." Mustang watched as Al's eyes widened in surprise, and added, "In a way it does concern you, Alphonse."

The next morning Al rode with Mustang to Headquarters. When they arrived at Mustang's office, he indicated for Al to sit down at one of the desks closest to his own, then started bringing out the vast amounts of information he collected the day before.

"This should get you started," Mustang said handing a file to Al. "This is Edward's State Alchemist profile. When you're done with that, you can start on the individual reports Edward filed on the various assignments you two went on. Those reports are fairly straightforward accounts of what happened on each trip, but I figure it will give you a good idea of what you two did during the years Edward was a State Alchemist. If you need anything clarified, feel free to ask."

Al was already on the second page of Ed's profile when Mustang was done speaking. Which was fine with him, since Al had lots and lots and lots of reading to do. The report files themselves would probably take Al the rest of the week, and probably some of the next week, as well.

Once Mustang put the report files in easy reach of where Al was sitting, he went back to his own business. It wasn't long before he noticed Al put down his reading and dug around for another file, obviously looking for some bit of information to help him piece things together in his mind.

"You know, Alphonse," he finally said during Al's third search. "You can ask me anything you want. It would be easier than digging through all that information." It would also be a great way to avoid his own work, but Mustang didn't mention that part.

"Um, okay." He looked down at his original file and read for a second before continuing. "It says here that my brother bought the mine in Youswell, then gave it back to the town. How did he manage to buy a mine?"

"He managed to acquire the mine at no cost. Somewhere in that stack should be a receipt detailing the sale. As to how he managed to get the mine for free, I figure he bribed the military officials who were in charge into signing away the mine for free."

"Then how did he get the money to bribe the officials?"

Mustang let out a smirk. "Knowing Edward, he probably transmuted enough money for the bribe, then changed it back to its original form when no one was looking."

Al blinked, and then replied, "Yeah, that sounds like something he would do."

That afternoon, someone from the State Alchemist Office came in and handed Mustang a thin file. He took it, skimmed it, and smirked at the contents. The second name was perfect for Al, in the very same ironic way Full Metal was perfect for Edward. He then called the younger brother over to his desk. "This is your title as a State Alchemist," he said as he handed the folder to Al.

"Full Body Alchemist?"

"It's fitting, in its own way. Then again, second names always fit the alchemist; it's just a matter of how it fits. Of course, the fact that you are Full Metal's brother probably had something to do with it."

Al continued reading the file for a moment, and then looked up. "Yes, it does fit. I like this name, and I'm sure my brother will too."

As expected, Al wanted to stay late at the office, in order to read as much as he could of Ed's reports. Mustang knew the boy would sit there all night reading if he let him. Unfortunately, at least for Al, staying at the office all night was more than Mustang was willing to give. He hated the place as much as it was, and besides, staying that long might just bore him enough to work on stuff not due for several days, and that went completely against his motto of 'If it's not due now, why bother with it?'

Finally Mustang got up from his desk and stood next to Al. "It is getting late, so be prepared to leave soon."

Al looked up from his reading. "Can I take some of this home so I can read it there?"

"If I let you do that you would just stay up all night reading. You are very determined, Alphonse, but you must also realize when to take a break."

Al's face fell, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Mustang continued, his voice firm.

"You do realize you have been doing absolutely nothing but reading and studying for the past four months, and now you want to push yourself even harder and have this all read within a few days. That is not only unadvisable, but also most likely impossible." He lowered his voice before continuing. "You can hardly do anything for your brother when you've collapsed from exhaustion."

"All right," Al replied with a little sigh. He closed up the folder he was reading and put it on top of a nearby stack.

"Let's go. You can start again tomorrow morning." He then waited for Al to get up and put on his coat, and then guided him out of the office.

Al continued going through the files and reports for the rest of the week. As he said he would, Mustang kept himself in the office to answer Al's questions as best he could. Of course, that meant he couldn't wander out with some flimsy excuse to avoid work, and he noted that Lieutenant Hawkeye seemed a bit too pleased with that.

After a few days, Al started asking about the Fifth Laboratory reports. Instead of answering those questions, however, Mustang would only say that they would talk about it later. He noticed this only made the boy more curious, but Al would simply frown a little and go back to reading.

A few days later Al looked like he had finished with everything, since instead of reading he seemed to be going back through stuff and checking things. "Have you gone through all the information I gave you?" Mustang asked when it was time to leave.

"Yeah," he replied, putting down the file he was holding.

"Was this any help in recovering your lost memories?"

Al paused before answering. "Yeah, it helped, since now I know what went on during the years my brother was a State Alchemist. But it doesn't seem real, in a way. It's like I'm reading about someone else's life. None of this stuff tells me what I was thinking or feeling at the time, only the basics of what happened."

Mustang frowned, seeing how frustrated and upset Al was. "Finding out the basics of what happened during your lost years is only the first step, Alphonse. Your brother will help you recover your feelings and emotions during that time, since he was always with you." He let Al think about that for a moment, then added, "Let's go home. There are some things I want to tell you that are not in those reports."

That night after dinner, Mustang sat down in the living room with a cup of coffee, and motioned for Al to sit across from him on the couch. After they were settled, he took a sip of coffee and decided to start things off lightly. Lightly compared to everything else, he mused.

"When I first talked to your brother, I made both you and him get on an earlier train going to Central. I'm sure you read a report on what happened on that train ride, how two young alchemists, one short and the other in a suit of armor, stopped the terrorists that were threatening the General. What the report didn't say is that I figured the terrorists were on that train, and I had a feeling they would attack. So, I purposely made you get on that train so that you could stop the terrorists, and show the General just how good your alchemy was. Once he saw your talents, I knew he would allow you two to take the national exam, despite being children."

Al stared at him in shock. "Wait, so you planned all that? How could you-I mean, you made us get on that train, and you put all those people in danger, so that we could take the test?"

Mustang let out a smirk. "You know, that's probably what Edward was thinking when I told him. Think of it this way, Alphonse. You and your brother did an excellent job of stopping the terrorists, so you actually prevented any more injuries. Besides, it really was a convenient way of showing off your talents to those who would allow you to take the exam."

He sipped his coffee as he waited for Al to digest all that. "How much did you read about the Fifth Laboratory incident?" he finally asked.

Al shook his head before answering. "Well, I read that there were secret military experiments going on there, most of them illegal. Some had to do with chimeras, some had to do with bodiless armor, like I used to be, but most importantly they were trying to create the Philosopher's Stone. Then the people involved with the Fifth Laboratory either died or disappeared, like someone was trying to cover it all up."

Mustang nodded. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes gathered all that information together. However, then he started to piece it all together. He figured out who was behind the entire Fifth Laboratory project. Unfortunately, he was killed before he could let anyone know." He felt the old anger and sadness start to rise, but quickly squashed it before continuing. "Do you know what a homunculus is, Alphonse?"

"I read somewhere that they were man-made creatures that looked like humans, except they didn't have a soul. Then in the reports I read, there were several mentions of an assassin group called Homunculus."

"Yes, they were man-made creatures without a soul. The reason the assassin group was called Homunculus was because that's what they were."

"You mean, actual man-made humans?"

Mustang nodded again. "Every time a human transmutation fails, a homunculus is born. That creature has similar characteristics of the original human, but none of their memories, and of course no soul. There were several of them running around, infiltrating the government. They were the ones who murdered Hughes because he got too close. One was even running the country. Their purpose was to force enough despair upon the world, so that eventually someone would create the Philosopher's stone. Edward said that the stone was eventually made, although I do not know the details about that."

"Why would they want to create the Philosopher's stone?"

"Someone was controlling them, but for what reason I don't know. What I do know is that your brother went to confront that person. After that he disappeared."

"What happened to the homunculus?"

"I believe they were all killed." Mustang paused for a second in thought. "No, I know one survived, a child of sorts. The Rockbells equipped him with automail since he was missing an arm and a leg. After that, however, he ran off never to be heard from again. As for the others, I would imagine you and Edward killed them." He paused again. "Except for one. That one I killed myself."

Al looked at him in shock.

"The former leader of our country, Fuehrer Bradley, was a homunculus. He was the one that lead this country into needless, destructive wars, just to force people to create the Philosopher's stone out of despair. Maes Hughes got too close to this truth, so he was killed." His voice grew darker. "Because of that, I had to destroy him. I didn't care what happened to me afterwards. That thing had to be stopped immediately before he could create any more suffering. So on the same night that your brother disappeared, I sneaked into his mansion with the help of Lieutenant Hawkeye, and attacked him once he was alone. He almost killed me, but in the end I wiped his existence from the Earth. That's why all the reports say Bradley ran away or disappeared. When I was through with him, there wasn't even a body left of that monster."

Mustang paused, realizing his fists were tightly clenched. He released them before continuing. "When I left the mansion, I was shot by one of Bradley's minions. That's why I have this scar. If it weren't for the Lieutenant coming and killing him before he pulled the trigger again, I would've been dead." He looked at Al very closely. "You are only the third person to know what actually happened in that mansion on that night. I ask you to take that secret with you to the grave. Do not even talk to your brother about it."

Al, stunned by what he had heard, could only slowly nod his head.

Mustang took another sip of coffee before continuing. "I will tell you one other thing, Alphonse. Your brother and I never got along, and I am partly to blame for that. You and I, however, never really got a chance to know each other very well. Most of my attention was focused on Edward, since he was the one under my command. That didn't leave me much time for you, and you were the quieter one to begin with." He paused. This wasn't supposed to be this hard. Finally he looked at Al and said, "I did not pay enough attention to you, and for that I am sorry."

There was silence as he watched Al react to what he said. First there was some surprise, then confusion, and finally thoughtfulness.

"I don't remember how you treated me, but it couldn't have been too bad," Al finally said. "Ever since I came here you've been helping me get back my lost memories. Now that I know what happened, I feel like I'm closer to finding my brother. I'm thankful for what you've done for me, and even though I don't know the specifics, I'm sure you helped us a lot in the past, too.

Mustang felt himself relax, and found himself smiling at Al. Things were going to be a little bit easier between them from now on.


	5. Chapter 5: Acting Like Children

Chapter 5: Acting Like Children

Mustang stayed up late that night, long after he told Al to go to bed. He sat in the same chair, drinking brandy instead of coffee, thinking about what was next now that he gave Al all the information he could on the boy's past.

He knew what had to be done. Ed disappeared while bringing back Al, so it seemed obvious that Ed was wherever Al's body was for all those years. Which meant to get Ed back, they had to try human transmutation.

He couldn't get rid of the feeling of dread whenever he thought about the subject. It wasn't that long ago that he seriously thought about attempting human transmutation himself, not once, but twice. He even developed his own theory for it, and the only reason he didn't go through with it was his fear of death.

He knew would happen if they were caught: he would probably get executed, although he thought, or rather, hoped, Al was young enough to get away with just spending a very long time in prison. And that was if they survived the transmutation. There was a good chance it would fail, and Al, him, or even both of them wouldn't get through it alive.

Al had already lost so much, the last thing Mustang wanted to see was for him to lose anything more. Which really only left one option…

Yes, this life would definitely have some use after all.

"You were right, Lieutenant, I cannot make calm decisions when it comes to those brothers." He swallowed the last of his brandy, knowing full well just how incredibly stupid and stubborn he was being, and went to bed before his oncoming headache got any worse.

"Do you know how you are going to find Edward?" Mustang asked the next morning during breakfast.

"I'm not sure, but I want to do some research in the Central Library," Al replied.

"Very well, I can take you there today if you like," he said, getting up to leave. He didn't say that several years ago he read almost everything the library had relating to the subject of bio-alchemy and human transmutation. The truth was, there wasn't a whole lot the Central Library had to offer in those subjects. Human transmutation was the ultimate taboo, thus books even dealing with the subject were rare. Bio-alchemy involving actual animals was a morally gray area, thus most books on the subject never went beyond laboratory mice. Which meant they were fairly useless when it came to the extreme complexity of human transmutation. Mustang figured Al would be through with everything the library had to offer within a few days.

Al was in the Central Library every day for the next week. Mustang really wasn't surprised at the extra time, since the boy was much more dedicated to his research than he was when he studied human transmutation years ago. However, every time he came to pick up Al on his way home, there were surprisingly few books surrounding the boy. Mustang wondered about this, but he had an idea of what the boy was doing. On the day there were only two books out, he finally decided to look into what Al was researching.

That night, once Al was asleep, Mustang went to the library and started going through all the notes the boy had made about human transmutation. There was more than Mustang thought there would be, however, and much of it involved the brothers' failed attempt to transmute their mother. His suspicions were right; Al was trying to remember what they did that night, in order to serve as a basis of how he was going to bring back Ed. Mustang read through some of the notes, and realized Al's theory was slightly different from his own. After some more skimming, he put down the notes and began to think. If the two theories were combined, taking the strongest points from each one, perhaps that was the answer to finding Ed.

He closed his eyes and pictured the array of his own theory, down to the last detail. He destroyed all his notes once he realized he couldn't go through with it, but that didn't matter. It was still perfectly etched in his mind.

Mustang sighed. Maes would have probably killed him for doing this, even if it was to bring back Ed. Except now he wasn't there to punch him in the face and make him realize how foolish and irrational he was acting. Hawkeye, might, though. Not punch him in the face, but at least tell him he was letting his emotions control him.

But she wasn't here either, and so Mustang found some blank paper and started sketching his human transmutation array, then Al's, and then started to compare the two. It wasn't until several hours later that he finally hid his own notes and went to bed.

The next morning, Al asked if he could spend the day at home, going over his notes.

"Does that mean you've gone through that entire library already?" Mustang asked, looking at him closely.

Al fidgeted. "Well, um, not really. I want to see what I have so far, and see what other things I need to research. There's a lot of information I want to organize."

Mustang took a sip of coffee. Most likely the boy was going to spend the day writing down his human transmutation theory, which meant he was done researching and would soon want to test his results. "Very well then, but on one condition. I know how involved you get when you set your mind on something, so I want you to make sure you take a break and eat something while I'm gone."

Al looked a little relieved, and nodded in agreement.

When Mustang got home that day, he checked on Al in the library. Rather than getting the boy's attention as he stood in the doorway, however, he quietly made his way to the desk, and peered over Al's shoulder.

"I figured you would be studying human transmutation," he finally said.

Al jumped from his seat at the words, nearly knocking Mustang on the chin. He then turned around, looking stunned, and even guilty.

"You know what happened the last time you tried human transmutation, Alphonse," Mustang said as he raised his head. "Are you really willing to risk everything just for the slim chance of getting your brother back?"

Al's shock immediately turned to determination. "I don't care what I have to do in order to get back my brother, even if it means risking everything. I swear I will find him."

Mustang looked at him for a moment. Yes, he would do something very foolish. "Several years ago I developed a theory for human transmutation. I soon abandoned it, however, because the risks were much too great." He then walked over to a corner in the library, pulled out a book, and took out the notes he hid the night before. He then walked back to the desk and dropped them in front of Al. "But then again, I was not trying to bring back my only family member."

Al looked up at him, once again surprised, and then looked back down at the notes.

"I said I would help you find your brother, Alphonse, and I fully intend to keep my word." He paused before continuing. "Your previous theory was sound, but I found some ways to improve it by combining our two theories."

"Wouldn't that just mix everything up?"

"Not if you do it right. Look here," he said, pointing to some equations. "You evaluated the definite integral for this side, and assumed it was the same for the other side. That will work, but to get a more exact answer you should have calculated it. See the difference?"

Al nodded. Mustang then went through all the changes with him, explaining everything in detail.

When he was done, Al looked up at him with curiosity and some suspicion. "Why are you doing this? You said you gave up the idea of human transmutation because it was too dangerous, so why are you helping me with it now?"

"It's because it is so dangerous, Alphonse. I know how much your brother means to you, and I know you would gladly risk death to get your brother back. However, I am not willing to lose a new State Alchemist due to a failed human transmutation. Therefore, since I cannot convince you to not try it, my only other option is to make sure you have the best chance of success."

Al looked at him for a moment, and seemed to accept his answer.

"Now that you have an improved theory, I suspect you want to try it as soon as possible," he continued. "Therefore, I shall make the necessary arrangements, and inform you when they are done." He then left the library, giving Al some time to go over the new theory a few more times.

Mustang hadn't really thought of where they would try the transmutation, as he was too busy wondering if they should even do it. He knew doing it in Central was essentially impossible, since it would generate enough energy to light up the entire house, or whatever building they might use. Naturally such a light would be investigated, and they'd be caught in no time.

Doing it out in the middle of nowhere would be the safest place. Not too remote, either, because he wanted to be close to some sort of civilization if things went wrong and someone needed medical attention.

Which meant the best place to try the transmutation was in the brothers' home village, Rizenboul. Not only was the location good, a small village in the middle of nowhere, but also it would help Al to be around the people he knew best. Never mind those same people would probably raise hell with Al for trying human transmutation, but that was probably a good thing, making Al realize how much other people were against what he was planning to do.

Everything was settled, then. Tomorrow he would file for time off, then buy two train tickets to Rizenboul. He figured they would be there in a week at the latest.

Three days later, Mustang stood with Al on the platform in Central station, waiting for their train to arrive. He was wearing a coat and tie, doing his best to forget about the military for the next few days. That included completely ignoring the files Lieutenant Hawkeye left on his desk to take with him and work on while he was away. Al stood there in his usual shirt and blue denim pants, carrying his suitcase, occasionally looking down the tracks to see if anything was coming.

Getting to this point wasn't as easy as Mustang had thought it would be, as Lieutenant Hawkeye almost prevented him from going. Almost immediately after he filed for leave, she came over to talk to him about what he was doing. Well, more like he stood there as she lectured him for letting his emotions get the better of him, which were always strong when it involved those brothers. He had to promise her that he wouldn't do anything irrational, although he was sure Hawkeye knew he wasn't intending to keep that promise. He figured those files he left on his desk was her way of keeping an eye on him when she couldn't be there personally. If he was too busy doing paperwork, maybe he wouldn't have the chance to do anything irrational. Decent strategy, but Hawkeye should have known he wouldn't do that paperwork regardless of the circumstances. He would rather spend his entire time in Risenboul watching the grass grow.

Finally their train arrived. They waited as the passengers arriving at Central got off, and then boarded the train. Mustang sat across from Al, their suitcases on the overhead rack above their seats, both of them watching the activity outside the window until well after the train departed.

Most of the trip to Risenboul was spent in silence. Mustang figured they both had plenty on their minds as it was. For Al it was undoubtedly the prospect of finding Ed. For Mustang, however, his thoughts were on more immediate things.

He had been to Risenboul twice before. The first time was on a stormy night, six years ago. That was when he first met Ed and Al, right after their failed human transmutation. He watched their house glow with the energy of the transmutation, then followed as a suit of armor carried a severely injured boy to another house.

Mustang had stood outside that house for several minutes. The sign in front said "Automail Rockbell." Out of all the houses in the entire country, he had to be standing in front of the one that was once the home of the two doctors he was ordered to shoot during the Ishbal war. He knew there was an orphan girl inside, and if he remembered right a grandmother. But there were also two boys who had no parents, had just lost who knows what else because of the failed transmutation, and he would be damned if he let his fears get in the way of helping them. Thus, he entered the house, went up to the lighted room, stayed only long enough to say what he needed to say, and then went back to Central and waited for them.

The second time Mustang was in Risenboul was almost five years later, after the Lior incident. He had just caught up to Ed and Al, who were wanted by the military. If there was ever a time he wanted to strangle Ed, that was it. He could've killed those brothers for running off without letting him help them.

But that wasn't the point. The point was, he finally told Ed and Al, and Winry Rockbell and everyone else who was there, what happened during that day he shot those two doctors. It really was the only way to explain things, why he was chasing after Ed and Al. He admitted why he wanted to get to the top, so that he would never have to follow any senseless orders again. Thus, he was chasing Ed and Al not because he was ordered to, but because he was seriously pissed at them.

After that, they all went to the Rockbell house, even had dinner and spent the night. It seemed like the remaining Rockbells forgave him in a way, or at least understood the circumstances more, because the tension between him and them was considerably lower. Not gone, that may never happen, but at least he didn't feel so uncomfortable in their house. He hoped all that tension wouldn't reappear once he came back.

They didn't arrive at Risenboul until the next day. Mustang wasn't entirely sure if there would be someone to greet them, since he wasn't sure if Al had had enough time to write home and say he was coming back. He didn't think so, and sure enough, when they pulled into the tiny station, there was no one recognizable waiting.

"Do you know where the inn is?" Mustang asked once they got off the train. He didn't remember seeing one last time he was here, but then again, he didn't have much of a chance to look around the village.

"Um, there is none," Al replied, looking slightly confused. "This village is so small, it doesn't really need an inn. If someone does need a room, they usually just spend the night at someone's house. Don't worry, though, Auntie Pinako has enough room."

Mustang figured this would happen, but had to make sure there wasn't any real alternative. After all, one night at the Rockbell's with a large number of other friendly military personnel was one thing, spending a few days there all by himself was quite another. But he would just have to deal with it, just like he did twice before. "Shall we go then?" he finally said.

Al nodded, and the two left the small train station, heading for the Rockbells.


	6. Chapter 6: The Sacrifice

Chapter 6: The Sacrifice

Not long after the Rockbell house was in view, Mustang saw someone come outside and stand on the front porch.

"Auntie Pinako!" Al shouted as he ran ahead. "I'm back!"

"You've met Colonel Mustang before, right?" he asked once Mustang finally got to the porch.

"Good afternoon," he replied, bowing slightly.

"He's been helping me a lot with finding out about the years I lost."

Pinako gave him a suspicious look before turning back to Al. "What brings you back home?"

He scratched his head before answering. "I, uh, just wanted to visit, and see how everyone was doing."

It was Al's turn to receive Pinako's suspicious look before she turned to Mustang. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Winry bursting through the door.

"Al! You're back! I was working in the shop so I didn't hear you walk up. How are you? Are you really a State Alchemist like Ed?"

Al smiled. "Yep, I'm a State Alchemist." He pulled out his silver pocket watch and showed it to Winry. "See, here's my clock."

"Wow, it's just like the one Ed had," she said, taking it. "Hey Al, since Ed wouldn't let me take apart his, can I open up yours? I promise to put everything back."

"Don't even think about it," he replied, snatching his watch back and putting it back in his pocket.

As the two exchanged glares at each other, Pinako turned back to Mustang.

"So, why are you with him?" she asked.

He had been thinking about that answer ever since they left Central. Telling the truth really wasn't an option, because he figured he'd be run out of town for encouraging Al to repeat that same mistake he made so many years ago. But there was another answer he could give, and it would also be the truth. It was something he had needed to say for a long time. Finally he replied, "Because I never apologized for the actions I took against your children."

Immediately Al and Winry stopped their glairing and looked at Mustang.

"I am deeply sorry for killing your son and daughter-in-law. You must know that I would never do anything of that nature again. Please accept my most sincere apology."

There was a moment of silence before Pinako responded. "When you were last here, I could see what a good man you are. When almost the entire military was after the Elric brothers, you made sure they were not captured. Perhaps there was a time when I might have blamed you for the deaths of my son and daughter, but that is no longer the case now. I accept your apology." She turned to Winry and asked, "Do you accept his apology?"

Mustang looked at her, and they made eye contact. He could see that this was harder for her than it was for Pinako. Finally Winry smiled weakly and said, "Yes."

Suddenly the air around him felt the lightest it had been in a very, very long time.

"Well, why don't you come in and get yourselves settled," Pinako finally said. She turned to Mustang and added, "We have a spare room for guests, although it's a little big for one person."

Mustang politely nodded. "I appreciate anything you have to offer."

Al still had his own room, since the Rockbells hadn't touched it since he left for Central. Which left Mustang with the fairly large guest room all to himself. He remembered last time he was here, Ed and Al spent the night in this room sleeping in actual beds, while most everyone else grabbed a spot to sleep wherever they could. No, that wasn't right, Al spent the night with his father, so they could get to know each other better. Still that was what, six, seven extra people spending the night? Mustang finally fell asleep sitting on the padded bench on the left wall of the room, with Hawkeye sitting next to him. He never did find out of she got any sleep that night. She had to, though, considering what a very long day that was.

There were three beds in the room, and Mustang took one at the end, closest to the door. He didn't have much to unpack, since he wasn't planning on staying for too long, depending on how the transmutation went. As he was unpacking, he halfway expected to find some kind of note in his suitcase from Hawkeye, or even those damn files. Obviously there was none, since he packed at home. However, he somehow got the feeling he'd be talking to her before he came back to Central.

After he finished unpacking, Mustang went downstairs. He saw that Al was already in the dining room, talking to Winry and Pinako about his time in Central.

All three of them looked up when Mustang walked into the room.

"So, Al told me he's been staying with you while he's been in Central. Is that true?" Pinako asked.

"Yes, that is true."

"I hope you've been taking good care of him," she replied. "Why don't you have a seat?"

"He's been helping me a lot with finding out about my lost memories," Al said as Mustang sat down at the table.

"Is this true too?"

"I gave Alphonse access to Edward's old military reports, as well as other documents pertaining to him."

"And what about him becoming a State Alchemist?"

"The reason I suggested Alphonse become a State Alchemist was so that he would have access to those files. It would be impossible for a civilian with no connection to the military to get that kind of information."

"So you only suggested he become a State Alchemist?"

"I was the one who decided to become a State Alchemist, Auntie," Al broke in. "I wanted to become a State Alchemist so I could find my brother."

Pinako merely took a puff on her pipe. "I knew you wouldn't listen to me. You can be just as stubborn as your brother, you know."

As Mustang was listening to the conversation, he felt the telltale pressure of yet another oncoming headache. Judging from the amount of pressure, it wasn't going to be a small one, either. He pondered if the stress of the day had anything to do with it, and maybe it did. He just hoped he would be pain free during the transmutation, and that he brought enough aspirin.

That night, when everyone had gone to bed, Mustang looked out the window in his room. It was amazing how many stars he could see out here in the country. It was also amazing how quiet it was. There was always some noise in Central City, no matter what time it was. Here, everything was still, and Mustang was beginning to realize just how much he liked it.

However, the stillness was soon interrupted by a faint knock at the door.

"Yes?" Mustang replied, turning to the sound.

The door opened, and Al quietly came in the room, closing the door behind him. "So, um," Al said, barely above a whisper, "when are we going to do it?"

"Would tomorrow be all right?"

Al nodded. "I don't think it would be a good idea to do it here, since I know Auntie Pinako would throw a fit if she found out. I know a place nearby that we could do it, though. It's by the stream at the bottom of a slope, so it's kinda hard to see when you walk by. That was one of our favorite hiding places."

Mustang nodded. "Very well. Tomorrow night we will do it, when everyone else is asleep. For right now, though, get some sleep. You know just how much energy is needed for human transmutation."

Al nodded, and quietly slipped out of the room.

Mustang let out a sigh once the boy left. He turned back to the window and looked at the stars a moment longer before going to bed.

The next morning, Mustang got up at his usual time out of habit. He lay there awake for a minute or two, wondering if he should get up, or try going back to sleep. During his medical leave he quickly found out just how much he liked sleeping in. Unfortunately, that was soon followed by his discovery of just how much Lieutenant Hawkeye enjoyed waking him up early for physical therapy. With a sigh, he finally gave up on sleep and got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs.

"I see you're an early riser," Pinako said once Mustang came down the stairs.

"The military wouldn't have it any other way," he replied with a small grin.

"Winry usually ends up working late at the shop, so she sleeps in a lot. I tell her to start earlier so she won't have to stay up so late, but she never listens. As for Al, he and his brother were always late sleepers."

"Do you mind if I make some coffee?"

"Go ahead. I usually don't make breakfast until later, but you're welcome to cook something now if you want."

Mustang nodded politely. "Thank you, but just coffee will be fine for now."

After the coffee was made, he poured himself a cup and stepped outside. Once again he was struck by how quiet everything was. There was no morning rush to work, no noisy streets, just calmness. Mustang had to admit it was relaxing not having to worry about reports or files, or wondering how to outsmart his superiors into giving him another promotion, or even trying to figure out were the hell Ed and Al ran off to again. He could easily get used to it, that's for sure. He sat down at the outside table and sipped his coffee until breakfast was called.

"So, enjoying the peace and quiet?" Pinako asked when he came inside.

"It is a pleasant change from all the noise in Central City."

Just then Al came down the stairs, followed by a very tired looking Winry.

"You were up late again, weren't you?" Pinako said as Winry sat down at the table.

"I wasn't up that late, Grandma. In fact, I went to bed not long after you did."

"So does that mean sleeping in late is becoming a habit for you?"

Winry didn't answer that, instead giving her grandmother an annoyed look before changing the subject. "Oh, Al, did you have any plans for today?"

"Well, I was thinking about going around the village and seeing if anything changed while I was gone, although-"

"Oh!" Winry said, cutting him off. "Nelly's cat had kittens not too long ago! I'm sure they're still around, if you want to go see them."

Al's face lit up at the mention of kittens. "I'd love to!" He turned to Mustang and added, "Did you want to come with us? Then I could give you a tour of the village."

Mustang was just barely able to hide his surprise. His immediate thought was to reject the offer, but then he saw the pleading look on Al's face. "I would enjoy a tour of your village, Alphonse," he replied.

The smile on Al's face seemed to light up the entire room.

It was a nice day for a walk, even though it was mildly overcast and a little warm. Winry lead the way, with Al right behind her and Mustang trailing a few steps behind. He halfway listened to the discussion in front of him about their childhood friends, and what they did together. It was mildly interesting to hear what growing up in the country was like, since Mustang grew up in a much more urban environment. The other half of his attention was focused on their surroundings. Despite being in the village twice, he never had much of a chance to take in the scenery.

The first stop was Nelly's house, to see the kittens. When they got to the house, a girl with dark hair came out, and seemed happy to see Al.

After saying hello to Al and Winry, she looked at Mustang and asked, "Who's that, Al?"

"This is Colonel Mustang, he's been helping me in Central City," he replied.

Nelly simply smiled and said hello, then brought out the kittens. It seemed like no one bothered to tell the villagers about Mustang's long history with Ed, Al, and even Winry.

Al was ecstatic when he saw the little balls of fluff. There were five of them, and they looked a little older, about the same size as kittens being sold in a pet shop. Mustang was content to simply watch Al and the others talk and play with the kittens, but soon one of them scampered over to him and started batting around one of his shoelaces.

"I think that one likes you," Al said as Mustang looked down at the kitten.

He bent down and gently picked it up, holding it at eye level. Almost immediately the kitten started chewing on his thumb. He had to admit it was cute, adorable, really.

"You look like you're going to be a real mouser," he said to the kitten. He watched it chew on his fingers for another moment before putting it down. Instead of immediately running away, however, the kitten stayed and started pouncing on Mustang's shoelaces for a few more minutes before finally returning to its littermates.

After a while Winry suggested they move on so they could see the rest of the village. Reluctantly Al agreed, and they said goodbye to Nelly.

Not long into the tour Mustang noticed he really didn't miss much of the village during his second visit. He somehow assumed there was more somewhere else, perhaps a central area with a few shops, but there wasn't. If Risenboul was this small, no wonder Al was so impressed with Central City. Even the small provincial cities would be huge compared to this.

What Mustang did see were a few farms, some houses, the tiny train station, and there was one small general store. The graveyard was only briefly pointed out, but Mustang made a note to come back sometime, alone. There were still two people he hadn't apologized to.

When they got to the river, Al and Winry pointed out the places where they played and sometimes fished. They soon came to a little ditch not far from the bank of the river, and Al seemed especially eager to point it out.

"This was one of our favorite hiding spots," Al said, looking at Mustang. He then ran down the fairly steep slope and added, "See, look, hardly anyone can see you down here, especially if you squat down."

Mustang walked to where he could fully see Al. It was a good spot, large and flat enough, and fairly hidden from view. He then carefully nodded, indicating he knew what Al was doing.

It was early in the afternoon when they returned home. There were some sandwiches lying on the table, and there were some metal clanks and a few dog whimpers coming from the shop.

"We're back, Grandma!"

Pinako's head peaked through the doorway. "Help yourself to the sandwiches I left. I'll be in here for a while giving Den his auto-mail tune up."

"I can help you with that," Winry offered while grabbing a sandwich and heading to the shop.

"You two can try fixing the loose railing on the porch when you're done eating," Pinako yelled from the shop.

"Um, okay," Al yelled back with some hesitation. He then turned to Mustang and asked, "Do you know anything about carpentry?"

Mustang was still staring at the shop in disbelief. "Not a thing," he replied without moving his head.

They both let out a sigh. This was going to take a while, and that was if they didn't end up breaking the whole thing.

After managing to splinter his fourth rail post, Al threw his hammer down in disgust and went inside. He soon came back with a piece of chalk, with a plotting look on his face.

Mustang instantly knew what Al was up to, and grinned in return. Why not fix the railing with the tools they knew best?

They were just finishing up the railing when Pinako came outside.

"So a hammer and some nails is too much for you two, huh?" she said after noticing the railing was now one solid piece of wood.

Their faces immediately fell.

"Hey, at least the railing is fixed," Al said defensively.

"And you'll never have to worry about it getting loose again," Mustang added.

Pinako merely let out a small chuckle and went inside.

That night, after everyone was finally in bed, Mustang stood next to the window in his room and waited. It had taken a while for everyone to get to bed, much longer than Mustang wanted. However, he managed to stay sane by reading a book, and eventually Winry came out of the shop and headed upstairs. He made a quick trip to the kitchen to get something, and then went upstairs to wait for everyone to fall asleep.

Twenty minutes later there was a faint knock on the door. Mustang turned to the noise and saw Al quietly slip in and close the door behind him.

"Before we do this, I have something to ask," he said softly. "What are we going to do for equivalent trade? We need something to exchange for my brother, and simply putting together all of the materials for a human body won't work because we aren't creating anything new. We're just trying to bring my brother back."

Mustang simply let out a small smile. He then left the room, patting Al on the shoulder on the way out.

A few minutes later they were outside the Rockbell house, both holding a lantern and a bucket of paint. The one problem with the transmutation spot was that there was no real good way to draw the array needed on bare earth without the chance of it getting blown away or erased by the wind. Paint would work, but it wouldn't be easy painting the complex array on the ground.

They silently made their way to the site Al pointed out earlier that day. The air was cool, but not chilly, and the sky was perfectly clear. The half-moon provided some light, but not a lot. Quite different then the first night the Elric brothers tried human transmutation, Mustang thought. It was a stormy night, as if nature itself was objecting to the transmutation. Just like a clichéd mystery or horror novel.

They got to work as soon as they reached the site. Mustang was right; all those complex symbols and letters were hard to draw with the brushes they had, not because they were too big, but because the brushes acted more like brooms to sweep the dirt away rather than putting paint on the ground. At one point Mustang began to think doing it at the Rockbell house really wasn't such a bad idea. At least then they would have a clean, solid floor.

After what felt like forever, Mustang looked up and waited for Al to finish up his part of the circle. Despite his resolve, he couldn't fight off his feeling of dread, knowing what would happen next.

"I will ask you this one more time, and please give me a truthful answer. Are you positive you want to do this, Alphonse?" he asked once they were both finished.

"I wanted to do this ever since the day I learned my brother disappeared," Al replied with determination. "Nothing will stop me from bringing him back."

Mustang nodded, and they both leaned over and put their hands on the transmutation circle. Instantly the circle began to glow, and Mustang could feel the immense power generated by the transmutation.

A second later, he was surrounded by bright light, with a huge doorway right in front of him.

"What the hell is this?" Mustang whispered to himself in disbelief.

"Ed! Ed! …_Edward!_"

Mustang snapped to attention and saw Al alternately pounding and pulling at the doors. Ed had to be on the other side, along with who knows what else. This couldn't be the gate to heaven, so maybe it was the gate to hell.

Mustang ran over to Al and helped him pull at the door. Finally a crack appeared, and ever so slowly it got bigger. Mustang could see that there was more light behind the door, but this light seemed to be moving in a way. Also, there were dark figures, or else just darkness, flickering about, as if eagerly waiting for the door to fully open. Some of them almost looked like heads, but most of them looked like very long arms. Like they were waiting to grab something. Mustang suddenly had a very bad feeling about them.

Then the door swung wide open, and then things started happening very quickly.

Ed was not on the other side of the door, at least, not right there. Instead, there was blackness, dotted with bright, inhuman eyes staring right at them. Suddenly those long black arms appeared, and in no time they were growing longer, reaching towards Al and Mustang.

Perhaps it was instinct more than anything else that drove Mustang to jump so quickly in front of Al. In any case, he got there right before those disgusting, hungry little arms did, and he was very thankful they concentrated almost completely on him, leaving Al free to find his brother.

"Al!" Mustang yelled as he was getting pulled to the other side of the gate. "Go find Ed!"

Al quickly nodded and ran ahead, calling out his brother's name.

Now all he had to do was keep these things busy until they came back. Mustang looked down and watched as the arms turned back into those unearthly black creatures, creatures that seemed to be feasting on him. They were concentrated on his right leg, and Mustang wanted to scream as he could actually feel the leg disappear.

"Al! Hurry up!" he yelled out instead. Mustang figured once they were done with his leg, they'd start going for other body parts.

A second later Al ran by, holding what looked like Ed. Now to get the hell out of here. Mustang fought harder against the black beings, until he heard a whisper coming from seemingly everywhere.

"You were that willing to get him back? We should have really charged a higher toll, even if that boy does have credit."

And then there was blackness.

"Ed! Ed, wake up!"

"Ungh…"

Mustang opened his eyes, and after a bit of focusing saw dark trees around him with stars overhead. It was all over with, and somehow he had made it back to the river, alive. He turned towards the voices, and saw through the smoke Al waking up a naked Ed, who also seemed to be missing his auto-mail. Only then did he notice his right leg was gone, the stump bleeding profusely. That needed a tourniquet… Off in the distance he could hear familiar female voices coming forward.

Roy closed his eyes in exhaustion and smiled. They were right. He had paid a very, very small toll for what he got in return.


	7. Chapter 7: Aftermath

Chapter 7: Aftermath

When Roy woke up, he was back at the Rockbell house, in the guest room. It was daylight, but he wasn't sure if it was morning or afternoon. He turned his head and saw Pinako rinsing out a rag in front of him.

"So, you're finally up," she said, folding the rag and putting on his forehead. "I'm really not sure if I should curse you or thank you for what you did. I suppose I should thank you, though, because those brothers are back together, and that's all they ever wanted."

Roy did not reply, but instead began focusing his attention on the fact he didn't have his right leg. It felt…very odd feeling the sheets come down over his thigh instead of his foot. He tried wiggling his toes, and then it really struck him. _He only had one set of toes to move._

But he would just have to get used to that, just like he got used to the headaches and the slight limp that he tried his damnedest to hide. Roy then realized the irony and had to grin. Those things took his bad leg, the one that was affected by the stroke and never really recovered. Guess he wouldn't have to worry about that limp anymore.

"Al wants to see you, and I think Ed does too," Pinako said, interrupting Roy's thoughts. "I told them to wait a while after you woke up. Especially Ed, since he seems intent on blaming you for something."

Roy smiled. The transmutation couldn't be called a success until Ed was pissed at him for it.

"Speaking of Ed, he didn't come back with his auto-mail, or any other kind of replacement limbs. He's already wanting new auto-mail. That boy never could sit still. I'll be back later to change your bandages, get some rest until then."

Roy spoke up before she could leave. "Thank you for bringing me here and taking care of me while I was unconscious."

Pinako seemed a little surprised by his words. "You don't have to worry about that. As I said before, we really should be the ones thanking you." She then left the room, closing the door behind her.

When she was gone, Roy tried to get his thoughts in order. First was Ed. Ed was most likely pissed because Al became a State Alchemist. Roy figured there was probably a whole lot more than that going on in Ed's mind, but all of it could be dealt with later.

Second was the issue of not having a leg. Auto-mail was by far the best choice, perhaps the only choice considering his position in the military. He could ask the Rockbells to make him a leg, but that would mean staying here longer, probably a lot longer. Which wouldn't be too much of a problem, except he already took an extended medical leave after he got shot. Too many medical leaves might hurt his chances for Brigadier General.

Finally, there was the issue of contacting the military about the medical leave he would need, regardless of auto-mail. He could just call Lieutenant Hawkeye and have her take care of it, since that's essentially what she did last time. But that would require her coming over and getting a doctor's recommendation for time off, and that meant she could personally yell at him for doing something so stupid.

Roy sighed. Hawkeye would be here in no time once she heard about him anyway, so no use trying to avoid it. But the phone call could wait until tomorrow. Right now he was exhausted, he could feel a headache forming, and he was still having bad flashbacks of those things ripping off his leg. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to overtake him.

When Pinako came back a few hours later to change the bandages, Al was with her. He helped her take off the old bloody ones and put on new ones. During the entire process Roy lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't quite ready to see the bloody stump his leg had become. Maybe after he stopped reliving the sensation of having his leg forcibly removed, almost bit-by-bit.

Once they were done, Pinako asked Roy if he was hungry.

"Not really," he replied. The thought of food made his stomach a little uneasy.

"I'll bring up a bowl of soup anyway. You need to eat something, you know," she said, then left the room.

Al spoke up once they were alone. "Ed said you planned all this, so that you could use it to manipulate us again. Is that really true?"

Roy turned his head to face him. He could see that Al was torn, not really believing his brother, but not really wanting to ignore him, either. "What do you think?"

"I don't think you did this to manipulate us, or threaten us or any of that other stuff Ed said. You promised to help me get my brother back, and you did."

"I'm glad to see Ed's habit of accusing me of everything hasn't rubbed off on you." Then again, it never had in the past. "To answer your question, I did not do this so I could have something to manipulate you with."

"Then why did you do it?"

Roy let out a smirk and replied, "I did it for my own personal reasons. You know, Al, one of these days you, your brother, and I need to have a long talk."

Al seemed a little curious about that, but rather than asking about it, he changed the subject. "There's also something else I wanted to say."

"What is it?"

"Thank you very much for bringing back my brother."

He smiled at Al's earnestness. "You're welcome, Al."

Then they heard Pinako coming up the steps, and soon she came in the room, holding a mug.

"Winry made this for you, so drink it until you feel like eating again. Ed didn't have an appetite after losing his limbs, either."

Roy managed to sit up by himself, and then was handed the mug. Slowly he took a sip. The soup was good, and maybe he was a little hungry. He would thank Winry next time he saw her.

"Al, remember when I said that Ed and I didn't get along very well?" Roy asked once he took a few sips.

"Yeah, why?"

"I understated the situation. He spent the entire time under my command wanting to punch me in the face. He usually hated me for some reason or another."

Al looked genuinely confused. "Why's that?"

"He'll be sure to tell you his side of the story if you ask him." Roy smirked, remembering the countless tantrums Ed threw. Of course, he set off a lot of them on purpose. Admittedly, that was immature on his part, and he did partially blame himself for their strained relationship. But it really was amusing to say just the right words to Ed, and then watch him erupt. Besides, Ed was probably going to dislike him no matter what he did, and Roy honestly didn't care if he was liked or not.

The next morning, Roy asked Pinako if he could use their telephone.

"We only have one downstairs by the kitchen, and I don't think you should be moving around that much." she replied. "If you really need to use it, though, I'm sure Al or Winry can help you down the stairs."

"Yes, it is important."

Pinako nodded, and called Al into the room to help him down the stairs.

Once they reached the phone, Al sat Roy down in the chair Winry placed by the phone. He thanked them, and dialed his office number.

"This is Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Lieutenant, I-"

"Let me guess, Colonel, you acted according to your emotions."

Of course she knew. She always knew, sometimes even before he did. "Yes," he finally replied.

"Should I start on a medical leave request?" she asked, her voice softer now.

"Yes." He paused for a moment, then added, "Don't worry, Lieutenant, I only lost a leg."

"What do you mean by only, sir?" Gone was the softness, replaced by sharp disapproval.

Roy smiled. "I only had to pay a small toll."

For a second there was silence. "I will start the medical leave request right away, sir," she finally replied. Then there was a click as Hawkeye hung up.

Roy let out a little sigh as he put down the receiver. Despite her preference for strict discipline, Lieutenant Hawkeye rarely raised her voice. She didn't need to, since her curt words and intimidating looks were already threatening enough. However, Roy was quite sure she would be yelling quite loudly when she reached Risenboul, and he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"Done with the phone?"

He looked over and saw Pinako bringing out some blueprints of auto-mail and putting them on the table.

"For now, yes," he replied. "One of my subordinates, Lieutenant Hawkeye, will be coming here to handle some military paperwork. Do you mind if she stays here for a day or two?"

Pinako took a puff from her pipe. "I remember her from the last time you were here. She's welcome to stay here as long as she likes."

"Thank you." He then turned his attention to the blueprints. "Is that Ed's auto-mail designs?"

"Yep. Ed can't stand not being able to move around. Since he hasn't grown much, using the same blueprints should speed things along." She turned to him and asked, "Are you going to be wanting auto-mail, too?"

Roy paused before answering. "Probably, although I might have to go back to Central City to get it. I don't know if I can stay here long enough for the rehabilitation."

Pinako managed a surprisingly sly smile. "You should know that there's no better auto-mail makers in Central City than us Rockbells."

Roy grinned at her confidence. "I'll keep that in mind."

Once Al helped Roy back to the guest room, he lingered in the room for a bit.

"I think I'm starting to remember what happened to me while I was in that armor," he finally said.

Roy was genuinely surprised at this. Seems he got a lot for just a leg. "What do you remember?"

"It's…I really can't describe it. There's nothing specific, just a few general feelings. I think I remember that my brother and I were always going places, never being in one place for long. It's really just a feeling of restlessness that I remember. Then I think I remember you, or at least someone in charge of us. I don't remember feeling any anger towards you, but I think I remember my brother not liking you."

Roy frowned. This could easily be Al's mind creating false memories based on what he read and heard. How could it not be, really? Al spent the last couple months reading about his past, immersing himself, in fact, it would only be natural that his mind would start believing it, enough to subconsciously recreate memories that weren't really there.

"Al, are you sure that this wasn't triggered by all that reading and hearing about your past?" he finally asked. "Human minds can be quite susceptible to suggestions, even more so when it's presented as fact."

He shook his head. "No, at least I don't think so. These really feel like memories, even if they aren't very clear."

Roy continued to frown. There wasn't much harm in Al recreating his memories from outside sources, especially if it helped him deal with losing all those years. But Roy just didn't want it to go too far, and have Al start claiming memories that never happened.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Al asked after a moment.

"Yes, actually, there is," Roy replied, his frown gone. "Tell Ed that I would like to see him."

"I don't see why I have to come to his room," Roy heard Ed mumble as Al helped him into the room. "

Al merely sighed as he helped his brother sit on the bed, then left the room.

"What do you want?" Ed snarled as soon as Al had left.

Roy grinned at the familiar attitude. "Nice to see you too, Ed. I merely wanted to see how you are doing. It's been a while since we last talked."

Ed seemed momentarily caught off guard. "Yeah, I suppose it has."

That was unusual, and Roy filed it away for later. For right now, though, it was time to spell a few things out for Ed.

"So," he began, "Did Al tell you that he finally became a State Alchemist, too?"

Ed's temper immediately flared up. "How the hell could you make him become a State Alchemist!"

"First of all, that was completely Al's decision. I'm sure he's told you that already. Second, may I remind you that you are still a State Alchemist, and that you will eventually be given assignments again. You are no longer wanted by the military, but they do want you to come back to work sooner rather than later. The only real difference is that now your brother will get paid to follow you around." Roy gave one of his usual smirks and added, "Although, since his work ethic seems to be better than yours, perhaps you'll be the one following him around instead."

That was obviously enough to get Ed going. In a display of his trademark tantrums, he jumped up from his seat on the bed and was about to let loose a barrage of insults, only to lose his balance and fall right back down. After that display of gracelessness, Ed merely stayed seated and glared at Roy.

"Did Al tell you why he wanted to become a State Alchemist?" Roy asked once the performance was over.

"He said he did it to gain access to my old military reports. I don't see why he had to go through all that just for those. You could've easily dug them up yourself and just give them to him."

Roy had to smirk at that. "Do you know how much information you accumulated during your assignments, and how much information there is regarding you?"

"It must've been a lot, since you had us going all the damn time."

"Exactly, Ed. If it was a few files, yes, I could've just given them to Al. However, in order to gain access to all the information that had anything to do with you, Al had to become a State Alchemist. Do you know how many strings I had to pull in order to get everything related to the Fifth Laboratory incident?"

Ed seemed more than a little shocked by that. "You mean, he read everything about that?"

"I had to fill in a few holes for him, but yes, he knows everything about the Fifth Laboratory, the homunculus, and whatever I could tell him about the philosopher's stone. I'm sure you could tell him even more about those subjects, since you were so close to them."

There was silence after that. "Did you tell him that we created a homunculus when we failed to bring back Mom?" Ed finally asked in a low voice.

"Was she the one who was the Fuehrer's secretary? No, I thought it would be best if you told him that."

"Good."

Roy paused. Knowing Ed, it sounded like he was never going to tell Al, thus keeping whatever guilt and regret associated with that away from his little brother. Which wouldn't be fair at all to either of them.

"You need to tell him, Ed. He has a right to know what you two did together, and as much as you may think otherwise, he was just as responsible for that as you."

Ed exploded. "How the hell do you know! You have no idea what happened!"

"I was there that night, remember? I know just how much you want to protect your little brother. But protecting him won't do any good, Ed. He needs to know the truth."

Ed scowled at him for a moment, then called Al to take him back to his room. Not surprisingly, the dirty looks continued until the two were gone.

Roy sighed as he felt a headache form. Talking to Ed was never easy, and almost impossible when it concerned touchy subjects like this. However, as much as Ed bitched and moaned, Roy knew that what he said would eventually reach him in some form or another. Sometimes it just took a long, long while.

That night Roy once again relived his moment at the doorway. Ever since the transmutation, every time he slept he saw those creepy black beings, usually ripping off his leg. The nightmares didn't bother him that much, really. It was one of the most traumatic events in his life, so naturally his brain would be fixated on that, and that resulted in the constant dreams.

Tonight was different, though. Tonight he didn't see those black things, but instead he saw the moving light that was on the other side of the doorway. It was more than saw, though; it was like he physically _felt_ the light rushing into his brain. His head immediately began to hurt from all that energy swelling up inside, and a second later it felt like he was going to explode. If he could just hold on to that energy, be able to make all of it fit inside his head, then maybe he would know the secret of God. But he couldn't, and he could feel the power drain away almost as soon as it reached him. Of course it would. It was arrogant and foolish to think humans could ever hold on to that much power.

Roy woke up with a start. He could remember the feeling of having all that power rush through and leave his body. That was curious enough, but what really got his attention was that he could feel that all that energy wasn't completely gone from his body. It was as if he managed to hold on to just a tiny little part of whatever was beyond the doorway. Roy figured this probably happened to everyone who went beyond the doorway, and that meant…

He softly clapped his hands together, then touched the empty soup mug on his nightstand. Sure enough, the familiar red sparks flew, and the mug became a bowl.

Well, that meant he didn't have to worry about the array being ripped off on his gloves. It would probably be best to keep this secret from the military, though. After all, how could he explain how he suddenly got the ability to do transmutations without an array? However, that didn't mean he always had to hide it, just around people he didn't trust.

Al probably had this power now, too. That wouldn't be hard to explain. Al just never realized he had the same skill as his brother.He idly wondered how Ed would react to his brother's new skill.

He clapped his hands together and touched the bowl, turning it back into a mug. The convenience of his new skill was obvious, and he figured it would come in very handy during a pinch. Roy had to smile. This really would be quite useful.


	8. Chapter 8: Atonement

Chapter 8: Atonement

Roy had no idea how Lieutenant Hawkeye managed to get from Central City to Risenboul so quickly. Normally it would take at least two days, and that was if everything was planned right. Perhaps she had everything ready beforehand and left as soon as he called. That was very possible, judging from the conversation they had yesterday on the phone. Even then, though, Roy really didn't expect her until tomorrow morning.

But late that afternoon, Roy heard the telephone ring, and a minute later Pinako came up to his room and announced that his lady assistant had just arrived at the Risenboul station, and would be arriving shortly.

It wasn't long before Roy heard Lieutenant Hawkeye come in and come up the stairs. He looked at her as she came in the room and put her suitcase and her briefcase on the next empty bed. She was wearing her uniform, which somehow he was expecting. It was strange, but seeing her gave him a sense of relief, as if things were finally going to get back to normal.

"What happened?" she asked as she approached his bed.

"You were right when you said I cannot make a calm decision when it comes to those brothers." He paused, watching her frown. "I brought Ed back using human transmutation. Despite what it looks like, things went very well."

"How is that possible when you lost a leg?"

"Alchemy is done by equivalent trade, right? Well, in the case of human transmutation, a human must be sacrificed in exchange for another human. However, I got Ed back at the price of a leg instead of an entire life, so I consider that to be quite a bargain."

Hawkeye stared at him in what looked like a combination of shock, anger, and disbelief. "You were willing to give up everything to get Edward back, even if it meant your life."

Roy smirked. "Oh, I wasn't willing to give up everything, I was planning to."

That was enough for her to explode. "How could you!" she yelled. "How could you be so willing to give up everything, when so many people are depending on you! How could you be so selfish, when so many people care about you!"

Roy had never, ever seen Hawkeye this upset before. She was right, though. What a terrible thing to do, to abandon all those people without even a warning.

She continued her verbal assault. "Do those brothers really mean that much to you, to sacrifice everything you worked so hard for, even your own life!"

"There are two reasons why I did it," he replied once she was finished yelling. "The first reason is that I could not stand seeing those brothers apart. They mean more to each other than anything else in the world, even their own lives. The other reason really is quite selfish." He let out a tiny smile before continuing. "How can I look after them if one of them is gone?"

Hawkeye was silent for a moment, and her voice was soft when she spoke again. "To save those you couldn't save before, right? You took away two parents, and now to make up for it you're trying to look after those brothers, to be a parent for them."

He waited a moment before replying. "A single life can never be made up for. So what happens when you've taken as many lives as I have?" Roy then turned his head and looked out the window. The sun was just starting to set, and the sky was turning a bright orange. After a long pause he added, "The sunset in the country is truly beautiful."

She walked to the window and looked out, then looked back at him. "Yes, it is."

The next morning, Hawkeye woke him up earlier than he wanted. He had been sleeping in since he lost his leg, sometimes late into the morning. For one thing, there wasn't much else he could do while he was stuck in bed, and more importantly, his stump didn't hurt when he was asleep.

As Hawkeye was firmly suggesting he get up, Roy groaned as he remembered what his last medical leave was like, and how insistent Hawkeye could be about getting up in the morning. Which meant he could expect to get woken up early every day from now on.

With another grumble he finally sat up and faced Hawkeye. "Why are you waking me up this early?"

"It isn't that early, sir," she replied. She was wearing a blouse and pants, but her hair was still pulled up in its usual style. "The reason I woke you up is because I brought you some food from breakfast. Also, it's time you got up anyway."

He looked out the window and realized it was midmorning. Okay, so she didn't wake him that early, but he was sure she would be soon. Hawkeye handed him some toast on a plate, and as he ate it, he realized just how good solid food tasted like.

"I noticed you didn't take the files I left on your desk." Hawkeye commented once he was done eating.

"Did you really expect me too?" Roy replied with a smirk.

Hawkeye opened up her briefcase and took out some files, then promptly dropped them on his lap. "Well, now you have plenty of time to do them, sir. And I took the liberty of bringing along some of the work you'll be missing while you recover."

He looked at the files with a small sense of terror. As much as he normally hated work, that was nothing compared with the loathing he had for it now. "But I'm supposed to be recovering," he rather ungraciously whined.

Hawkeye wouldn't budge. "Your arms are fine, and despite your recent lack of judgment, your thinking process should be perfectly normal."

Roy made a pained face and opened up the first file. Approval notices he had to sign for…shit, increase in toiletry supplies? Just when he thought the military couldn't get any more inane, they needed his approval for more toilet paper. Naturally it would affect the budget for who knows what other department, and then he'd have to take care of that… He sighed as Hawkeye handed him a pen. Why bother going back to Central when most of the misery was being brought to him?

"I will see the local doctor about coming in and examining you," Hawkeye said once Roy settled down with his paperwork. Once she seemed satisfied that he was working, she left the room.

Pinako came in a while later with a bowl of soup. Grateful for the distraction, Roy immediately dropped what he was doing and took the bowl. It was more of Winry's broth, this time with some noodles and vegetables to make it more filling.

"I see your assistant is keeping you busy," Pinako said.

Roy had to smile. "Her self-declared job is to help keep me in line, and that includes making sure I get my work done." Honestly, though, Roy didn't need Hawkeye to make sure he had all his work finished. Being lazy on the job was a good way of not getting promoted, after all. However, that didn't mean he didn't appreciate her efforts to help curb his procrastination. He needed all the motivation he could get, and Hawkeye was more than willing to provide.

"We're going to be done with Ed's auto-mail in a few days," Pinako said after a moment. "Did you want us to start working on a leg for you after we're done with Ed?"

Roy paused for a moment. Since Hawkeye made it obvious that he would be working while he was staying here, there really wasn't a huge need to go back to Central. She could be a messenger of sorts, taking his finished work back to Central, then bringing back another load of whatever needed to be done. If anyone needed to talk to him directly, there was always the telephone. Of course, there were things that would require his actual presence, like inspections, but nothing that couldn't be put off for a while or done by someone else. More importantly, however, he still needed to have a long talk with Ed and Al, and he would much rather do it here, where the boys felt more comfortable.

"Yes," he finally replied. "Make me the best auto-mail leg in the country."

Pinako got that sly look on her face again. "No problem."

It wasn't long before Roy heard Hawkeye come back. He looked at his stack of completed work and saw how little he got done. He was honestly trying to get it finished, but there was simply too much else on his mind for him to concentrate very well. Besides, his leg still hurt and a headache was forming.

"The doctor will see you first thing tomorrow morning," she said once she was in the room. "He was already asking how you lost the leg. I told him I didn't know."

"That's fine." Roy knew that question was going to be asked. Obviously the truth couldn't be told, so he needed an alternate story. There might be a problem if they asked where the missing leg was, however, and then he'd have to figure out some way to make a halfway passable limb. Or else just create a scenario where it would be nearly impossible to recover his leg, and hope the locals don't get too curious.

"I see you managed to get a few things done," Hawkeye said, picking up the small stack of completed files he had on the nightstand and skimming through them. "Although at this pace you'll never get caught up."

"I just lost a leg, you know," he said rather defensively. "And besides, sitting on a bed isn't the best place to work on this stuff."

"I will see about getting you a bed table of sorts." She put down the files and left the room.

Sighing, he gathered all the paperwork on his bed and put it on the floor. He needed a nap and his leg was incredibly sore, so Hawkeye would just have to deal with the fact that he was done working for the day. And the next day, if he could get away with it.

At 9:30 the next morning, the doctor came over for the necessary examination. Roy really couldn't care less one way or the other about it, mostly because it was just something that had to be done. Then again, he was never squeamish around medicine, even when it involved pain. Thus, he waited patiently as the doctor read over the various forms.

"So, how did you lose that leg?" the doctor finally asked.

He figured that would be the first question. "Al and I were walking by the river, and I figured I could jump across using some rocks that were sticking up out of the water. However, one of the rocks slipped, and before I knew it, I was almost completely under water, with a large boulder crushing my leg. I could just barely get my face above water, and when I did I yelled at Al to get an axe or a saw, since I knew I wouldn't be able to last long enough for someone to move the boulder. The leg had to be cut off, especially since it was already crushed. Al quickly came back with Winry and an axe, and together they managed to chop off my leg and get me to the shore. The leg is probably still there, if you want to take a look at it."

"No, no, that's fine," replied the doctor, looking more than a little horrified by the story.

It took some effort for Roy to hide his smirk. Really, though, having his leg hacked off probably wouldn't have been much more painful than having it removed bit by bit by some ungodly black figures. It would've been less surreal, that's for sure.

The doctor came over to the bed and took off Roy's bandages to examine the stump. Roy took this opportunity to finally see his injury for himself, and wasn't exactly thrilled with what he saw. He'd seen these kinds of wounds during the war, but to see his own body with such an injury was more unnerving than he wanted to admit.

After what Roy thought was way to much poking and prodding, which hurt a lot more than he thought it could, the doctor finally began putting the bandages back on.

"It looks like the stump is healing well, and there's already some shrinkage, which is good. I would recommend walking around with some support in a few days, to make sure your other leg stays healthy." He finished up with the bandages, and then moved on to the paperwork. "Have you been feeling any pain or discomfort that seems to be coming from your missing leg?"

"There's been some sharp pain and sometimes a burning sensation, actually," Roy replied. More like re-feeling his leg being ripped off in tiny pieces, but close enough.

The doctor nodded. "That's expected when people lose a limb, so don't worry about it. Unfortunately, pain medication doesn't help much, but it should slowly go away after a while." He made a few more notes, then asked, "Are you planning on getting auto-mail?"

"Yes, I plan to have some made by the Rockbells here."

"All right, then, I'll let them handle it. I've recommended two weeks for medical leave, plus another three months for auto-mail rehabilitation." He wrote a few more things down, then gathered up all the paperwork. "I'll leave these with your assistant. I hope you feel better soon."

Roy thanked him and watched as he left the room. He wasn't sure if three months sounded like forever, or else no time at all.

Hawkeye came into the room a few minutes after the doctor left, holding a stack of files.

He put on his best nonchalant look before facing her. "The doctor said I shouldn't be doing any work while I was recovering, since it might be too much stress."

"That's funny, because I just talked to the doctor, and he said light work might be good for you to keep your mind occupied."

Damn it! Oh well, at least it was only light work, and not the full load he suspected Hawkeye was planning. "Fine, just don't expect me to work very fast."

"Yes sir," she replied. "Here are some reports you just have to review, that should be light enough work."

He took the files and skimmed over the first one. It was a list of personnel reassignments and transfers that really didn't involve him. Well, at least it wasn't budget numbers.

About halfway through the first file, Roy paused and put it down. Last time he was on medical leave, he hardly did any work at all, and even that was towards the end. Of course, he had a mild stroke then, but his thinking process was mostly intact the entire time. Not much different from his situation now, actually…

"Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir?"

He gave her a careful look. "I don't really have to do any of this, do I? I'm on medical leave and Headquarters really isn't expecting anything from me, are they?"

"That is correct, sir." She seemed completely unfazed by his question.

"Which means, any work that I do get done would simply be a bonus, to show Headquarters that I'm willing to work even though I'm on medical leave."

"Yes sir."

"In other words, to lessen the damage this second extended leave might do to my chances for another promotion." Why didn't he realize this sooner?

"Yes sir."

Roy smirked. "I'm glad at least one of us is thinking rationally."

Later that day, Winry brought up a bed desk she had made for him.

"Riza asked if we had any sort of desk you could use while you're in bed, and since we didn't, I made one." She put it over his lap, and seemed satisfied that it was the right height.

"Thank you for taking the time to make it." Despite the desk being work related, he was glad for it. It would make doing his work a lot easier, instead of having to stack files on his lap for a hard surface. He figured that couldn't be good for his stump.

"Also, thank you for the soup you made, it was good," Roy added once he moved his files to the desk. It was good, but he was getting a little tired of it after so many days. Thankfully Pinako said there wasn't much left.

Winry smiled. "Oh, don't worry about that. It's my way of thanking you for bringing Ed back."

"You really don't have to thank me." If anything, he owed it to them to bring Ed back. "Besides, Al did most of the work anyway."

"That's not what Al says. When I asked him, he said that since you were the one who gave up something for Ed's life, you were the one who really brought him back." She paused and lowered her head. "I always wondered why Riza said she had to protect you. Now I know why. You are a very kind person, someone worth protecting."

Roy looked at her in shock. That was quite possibly the last thing he could ever expect her to say.

Winry smiled again. "Thank you very much for bringing back Ed."

He had to match her smile on that one. "You're welcome."


	9. Chapter 9: When Worlds Collide

Chapter 9: When Worlds Collide

Getting shot in the face really wasn't that painful, mostly because Roy was unconscious for the worst of it. All that slicing by Bradley was much worse, especially getting stabbed right through the shoulder. Now that was painful.

Then came those god-forsaken black things ripping off his leg piece by piece, and Roy thought that was the worst thing he'd been through. It wasn't exactly the pain that made it so bad, it's just that he'd rather be stabbed a few dozen times than see those things tear off another body part.

However, nothing really could compare to the unimaginable pain Roy went through to have his auto-mail leg installed. How the hell did Ed manage to go through it four times?

Roy knew how painful auto-mail surgery was. Some even refused to get auto-mail because the massive amount of pain involved with getting it. Hearing the banging and rare muffled yell while Ed had his surgery really didn't help things, either. It was one thing to suddenly experience vast amounts of pain, but it was quite another knowing it was coming, and thus being able to dread it.

But his surgery came and went, and Roy was rather pleased with the way he handled it. True, he crushed a few things with his grip when the pain was especially bad, but overall, he was almost as quiet as Ed.

"I'm impressed," Pinako said as she was helping Roy back into bed after the surgery. "Hardly a word came out of you. You smashed a few things, but still, most everyone screams out in pain because of all the work done to the nerves."

"Everyone except Ed, that is," Winry retorted. "Ed was too stubborn to make a sound, but he almost wrecked the room with all his flailing." She eyed Roy and added, "Just like you did, in fact. I wonder if it was because you're just as stubborn as he is."

Roy was caught off guard. "I've, uh, had a lot of experience with pain, so my tolerance for it is higher."

Winry clearly wasn't convinced. "Just as I thought, you are just as stubborn as Ed."

He was about to defend himself, but figured that would only add to her argument. She was right, though. He hadn't known anyone as stubborn as he was until Ed came along.

"It'll take a while for your body to adjust to the auto-mail," Pinako said, getting back to the original subject. "The first few days you won't get any response from it, so it'll be like having a hunk of metal strapped to your leg. After that it slowly gets better as the response rate goes up. I figure you should be walking in a few weeks, and running not too long after that. You'll always have a slight limp, however."

"I can hardly wait." So much for no longer limping. He tried lifting up the auto-mail with what was left of his natural leg, but it wouldn't budge. Great, instead of having no leg, he had a huge dead weight that would make moving around almost impossible. Plus, the soreness from the surgery was almost enough to make him want to smash a few more things. The next few weeks sounded like torture.

Hawkeye came in then. She had returned from her first trip back to Central two days ago, and brought news that the military was highly impressed with Roy's dedication to his work. He had to smirk at that; their plan was going along perfectly.

"How is he?" she asked. "I hardly heard anything during the surgery."

"He did quite well," Pinako replied. "Hardly let out a yell, although he broke a few things from squeezing them too hard."

Roy winced as a shot of pain ran through his leg. "Remind me never to get auto-mail again. How long does the soreness last?"

"It shouldn't last more than a day or two. Now, try and get some rest." Pinako helped him lay down, then ushered everyone out of the room.

Once they were gone, Roy sighed as he closed his eyes. Sleep sounded really good, but having half a dozen knives stabbing the end of his stump wasn't going to make falling asleep very easy.

A month later Roy was starting to walk with a crutch. Moving the auto-mail still took lots of concentration, and even then it was slow and clumsy. But at least he was walking, even if it took too damn long.

Ed was also starting to walk, judging from all the loud noises coming from his room. As frustrating as it was for Roy to learn how to walk again, it had to be worse for Ed, who was adjusting to both a leg and an arm. A few times a day there would be a loud thud, then Roy would hear some of the most colorful language Ed ever shouted. Usually after that Al would say something, then not long after that there would be another thud. Roy couldn't help but to smile at the pattern. Auto-mail rehabilitation was always a long, slow process, which meant it was probably driving Ed absolutely crazy.

They hadn't talked since the conversation two days after the transmutation. Roy really wasn't surprised, though. For the most part both of them were confined to their rooms, and the few times they did see each other, Ed either gave him a dirty look or ignored him completely. This didn't bother Roy at all since he was used to this kind of treatment, and besides, Ed probably had enough on his mind without having to talk to him.

Roy had plenty on his mind, too, really. Hawkeye had been to Central again, and was planning on going again in a few days, as soon as he finished the latest batch of work. Which meant she was pressing him more than usual to get it done, something Roy wasn't thrilled with.

"I would suggest you not take any more naps until that report is done, sir," she said as she put the bed desk over his lap. "Headquarters called this morning and asked if you were going to get it done and sent over in the next few days. I told them you would."

"Fine, I'll get it done today." He frowned as a headache began to form. Wonderful, working with a headache was always so much more pleasant. He reached over to the night stand and picked up the stack of unfinished work, and started frowning more when he flipped through the report Hawkeye wanted done. How exactly was he supposed to submit an accurate personnel report when he hadn't seen the personnel in question for months? He thought for a moment, finally deciding to just write down the same information as he did for the last report. Which, come to think about it, wasn't very different from the one before that. That was the thing he hated most about all his paperwork: so much of it seemed so pointless.

Later that day Roy heard the front door downstairs open, and someone coming inside. He didn't know of anyone planning to come over, so he figured it was just one of the locals saying hello. He listened to the welcoming downstairs to see if he could get the visitor's name. Most of it was inaudible, but he did hear something about a Curtis.

Suddenly Ed's room got very noisy.

"Ed! Our teacher is here, what are we going to do?" It sounded like Al was afraid, almost panicking.

"Oh shit." There was a pause, then "I know, we'll blame everything on the Colonel."

Roy couldn't imagine what would cause Ed and Al to be so afraid. He never met their teacher, thus he had no idea what he, wait, wasn't their teacher a she? Either way, he had no idea what that person was like. There had to be some discipline, though, in order to make Ed and Al study the more tedious aspects of alchemy.

Downstairs, an unfamiliar female voice started shouting and interrupted Roy's thoughts.

"What do you mean Al became a State Alchemist! I told him they were still considered dogs of the military! I thought he had more sense than that!"

"I remember that voice," Hawkeye said. She had stayed in the room, going over what she was going to bring to Headquarters.

Then someone was storming up the steps, most likely the same woman. The door to Ed and Al's room slammed open, and then the yelling continued.

"Al! This is the second time you didn't listen to me! What the hell were you thinking!"

"Al was tricked into becoming a State Alchemist by that bastard Colonel," Ed spoke up. "He's in the next room if you want to talk to him."

Roy frowned. Things were going to get very interesting very soon.

The door swung open, and a very imposing woman with dreadlocks burst in. Roy recognized her from somewhere, but she started yelling before he could figure out where.

"Are you the one who tricked Al into becoming a State Alchemist!"

Roy had been yelled at by far, far too many people to be even the slightest bit intimidated by the woman's voice. "I offered him the chance to become one, but the decision was completely his," he replied calmly. "How is this your concern, anyway?"

Al had managed to slip into the room by then. "Uh, you two haven't met, so let me introduce you to each other," he said in an attempt to stop whatever fight might be forming. "Colonel, this is our teacher, Izumi Curtis. She trained us and taught us all about alchemy. Mrs. Izumi, this is Colonel Mustang. He helped me recover some of my lost memories, and helped me find Ed."

So this was the infamous teacher he heard Ed and Al mumble about. He carefully looked at her, trying to gain as much information as he could. Obviously she was a very good alchemist. From her rather fit appearance, Roy also figured she was good in combat. Judging from Ed and Al's fear of her, chances were she used her fighting skills on them more than once. How brutal.

"Colonel Mustang?" Izumi looked a little surprised by this, as if she was trying to remember something. "The State Alchemist?"

"That is correct." Looks like there was going to be a fight anyway.

"I remember reading about you in the papers, the so-called famous Flame Alchemist. You're nothing but a dog of the military, and a disgrace to alchemy!"

She turned and stormed out of the room, but Roy was sure that wasn't the last time he would see her. In fact, things were probably going to get very ugly between them the next time they met.

"Uh, sorry about that," Al said a little sheepishly. "She's not that bad once you get to know her." He smiled a little, then followed his teacher down the stairs.

"Now I know where I recognize her," Hawkeye said once Al had left. "We were at the Central military hospital looking for Edward, but he had just left and no one really knew where he was going. Then this woman barged into the room with her muscle bound husband, snatched the map on the wall that indicated where Edward might be, and left the room."

"Oh yes, her," Roy said, remembering that incident. To begin with, he was pissed that Ed ran off again, and lied about where he was going. Then that woman came in, seemingly even more determined to find out where Ed went. Roy had absolutely no idea who the hell that woman was, why she was trying to track down Ed, and from the look on her face, he hoped she didn't find him. So yes, he could safely say he didn't like her from the very beginning.

"No wonder Ed and Al are terrified of her," he continued. "Not only does she look constantly pissed off, but I figure she acts the same way, too. They were probably screamed at during their entire time training."

"You have your own way of dealing with them too, sir." Hawkeye said. "You and her are not entirely different in that way."

He looked at her and frowned. Not entirely different? He really couldn't imagine how he and that woman could be any more different.

A few hours later that woman was still there.

"She has been asking Alphonse about his time with you, and how Edward came back," Hawkeye reported. "So far he has only mentioned studying for the State Alchemist exam, and going through Edward's military reports. As for finding Edward, Alphonse says that Edward came home all by himself."

"Why the hell is she interrogating him anyway?" Roy said, making his annoyance obvious.

"I asked Edward about her, and he said that she was a tough teacher who taught them a lot about alchemy, but that at the end he and Alphonse didn't learn very much."

"Did he say if she knows about their failed attempt at transmuting their mother?"

"He said they got beat up fairly badly once she found out."

Roy frowned. He was right about her being brutal.

Suddenly there was thundering up the steps, and that could really only be one person.

"I knew you tricked Al into becoming a State Alchemist!" Izumi yelled as soon as she entered the room. "You bribed him with information about his past, knowing that he would do anything to get it! Al always did have more sense than his brother."

Roy smirked. Well, yes, he did bribe Al into becoming a State Alchemist, but he didn't consider that a bad thing. In fact, it was beneficial to both of them. "You seem to think that Al becoming a State Alchemist is some big deal. The truth is, Al played the role of State Alchemist for several years while he was accompanying Ed on his assignments. Since Ed is still a State Alchemist and will eventually receive assignments again, the only thing that will change is that now Al will have an official title and get paid for what he does."

His smirk grew downright vicious when he saw the look on her face, the face of someone who had just realized he was completely beaten. Roy had to admit he especially enjoyed seeing that look on his enemies. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

"It's just like a ruthless State Alchemist to trick people into becoming dogs of the military! How can you live with yourself? You use alchemy to kill people whenever the military orders it, knowing that alchemy is meant for the good of the people. I hear you were especially good at murdering people by setting them on fire. No wonder you got promoted. The military must have been very happy to see all the deaths you caused!"

There was a time when Roy would have burned her for what she had said, either literally or figuratively, for making those comments. That time had long passed, however.

Thus, he was perfectly calm when he spoke. "I don't give a damn what you think about State Alchemists, but let me remind you that Ed and Al are under my command, and thus under my control. You no longer have any say in their lives. So if you want to continue insulting State Alchemists, be my guest. Just remember who it is you're attacking."

Silence followed that, and Roy wasn't entirely sure if that woman would become physically violent or not. Eventually, however, she merely turned and left the room.

"I knew things were going to get worse," he said, rubbing his temples. His headache from earlier that day was only getting worse.

Al came in not long after Izumi left, looking hurt and defensive and angry, all at the same time.

"Why can't you and Mrs. Izumi get along?" he asked.

"Because neither of them will get past their first impression of each other," Hawkeye replied in her best no-nonsense voice. Even though she wasn't looking at him, Roy could tell she was directing her comment at him.

Al frowned. "I know she can be a little harsh, but that's her way of teaching and showing that she cares for us. She looked after us when we trained with her, and especially when I was with her by myself."

"Just because she trained you doesn't mean she had to physically assault you all the time," Roy shot back.

"It wasn't like that." Al was almost pleading, but when he saw that Roy wasn't budging, he sighed and left the room.

"A similar thing could be said about you, sir," Hawkeye said once Al was gone. "Just because you were helping them doesn't mean you had to tease them so much."

Roy looked at her with some disapproval. "I would hardly put calling Ed short in the same category with breaking his bones."

"Alphonse didn't say anything about breaking bones, sir."

He turned away without answering, and wondered why Hawkeye seemed to be defending that woman.

It wasn't until the next day that Roy saw Izumi again. This time, however, she didn't stomp up the stairs or storm into the room. In fact, Roy would almost call her entrance civil, if it weren't for her menacing glare.

"How did Ed come back?" she asked, obviously suspicious.

"He was by the river, walking towards the house when we found him. I assume he was coming in from the east, using the waterways to get home as he did before." He tilted his head to the side, giving her a questioning look. "If you're so interested how Ed came home, why don't you just ask him about it?"

Izumi's face remained stern. "How could he have traveled all that way by himself without auto-mail?"

"You honestly think Ed wouldn't be able to fasten some sort of artificial leg by himself?" Roy knew exactly what Izumi was trying to get to, and he wasn't about to give up a scrap of information.

She paused for a moment, then continued. "You have an auto-mail leg, don't you?"

"I don't see how this concerns you, but yes I do."

"How did you lose that leg?"

"In an accident by the river. I was trapped underwater and Al had to cut off my leg to save me."

"Then why is it that I didn't find anything resembling a human leg when I was walking by the river?"

"How should I know? Maybe you weren't looking in the right spots." Damn, this woman was good. He would have to be especially careful around her.

Izumi managed to frown even more before leaving the room. Roy could tell this wasn't over, not by a long shot.

After dinner that night, Roy, with some help from Hawkeye, carefully limped downstairs for a change of scenery. He was getting way too tired of that room, and besides, it was good to work on his auto-mail coordination.

"Do you know if that woman was around here?" he asked her when they finally got to the bottom of the stairs. He was having one of his usual headaches, and did not want to deal with her if at all possible.

"She's outside with Alphonse, sir," she replied.

"I suppose she's interrogating him about how Ed came back. Knowing Al, he's probably going to let something slip, if he doesn't admit to everything first." He frowned as he limped over to the table. He really didn't want to deal with this tonight, but that no longer looked like an option.

He was about to sit down at the table when Izumi barged in, looking like she was going to kill someone, or more specifically, him.

"You bastard," she said in a surprisingly calm voice. "You used human transmutation to get Ed back, didn't you?"

"Why do you care what I do?"

"Because you dragged Al into it, that's why!"

Roy smirked. "If you know those brothers at all, you should know that I didn't drag Al into anything."

"I don't care what you call it, you still encouraged him to try something you knew was dangerous!"

He wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh at her or sneer at her for that. "Listen, bitch, when you agreed to train Al in alchemy again, you knew he was going to do anything to get his brother back, even if that meant trying human transmutation. So don't you dare blame me for doing what you were too much of a coward to do yourself!"

Izumi's glare managed to become even more vicious. "How dare you call me a coward, you murdering bastard!" Then she lunged forward, looking eager to attack him.

Roy was ready for her, however. Quickly he clapped his hands together and slammed them on the table. Immediately the red sparks flew, and in almost no time two forked wooden spikes grew out towards Izumi, ultimately trapping her arms and rendering her immobile.

The attack caught her by surprise, but she quickly recovered. "You saw the Gate, didn't you?" she spit out.

"Is that what you call that? Here I thought it was the gateway to hell." He paused, a smirk on his face. "That means you saw it too. I wonder what it took from you. Something inside, for sure, since you have all your limbs. For that matter, who was so important that you tried to transmute them?"

He didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "Perhaps you never realized it, but those brothers need each other more than anything else in this world, and I'll be damned if I see them spend the rest of their lives apart!"

Izumi broke free of the wooden spikes, but didn't attack. Instead, she glared at him, eyes full of rage. "How could you know anything about those brothers? You're too busy being a dog of the military." She gave a final sneer, and stormed out the door.

"Did you really think that was necessary, sir?" Hawkeye asked once everything was quiet.

"You saw that she was about to attack me." Roy looked at her with some annoyance.

"You could have handled this situation in a more composed matter, and prevented it from escalating." She walked to the front door, where Izumi had stormed off just moments ago. "She is not your enemy, sir," she said to him, and walked out the door.

Roy watched the door long after Hawkeye left, pondering what she said. That woman cared for those brothers, just like he did. She was simply looking out for them. If their situations were reversed, and he was the one just learning about the human transmutation attempt with a complete stranger, he'd be the one cursing and screaming and wrecking things.

Speaking of destruction, he had a table to fix. Slowly he walked around the table, and very carefully picked up the broken pieces of transmuted table, making sure not to fall down while bending over. Once all the wood was on the table, he clapped his hands, touched the wood, and after a few red sparks the table was back to normal.

Roy had to smile. "What a convenient little perk for going through hell," he said to himself. Too bad it wasn't worth it, not even close.

Not long after he slowly limped back to his chair and sat down Hawkeye came back in. He waited for her to say something, but she remained silent.

"You talked to her, didn't you?" Roy finally asked.

"Yes."

"Did she say anything?"

"No." After a pause she added, "This is not entirely her fault, sir."

He frowned and looked away. He supposed this meant it was time for him to start acting in a more composed manner.

A while later Izumi walked in the door. She was frowning as usual, but Roy noticed it wasn't as harsh as before.

"Is it true that you would never put those brothers in danger?" she asked.

"Yes, that is true," he replied, perfectly calm.

"Then why did you help Al with the human transmutation?"

"Because I made sure as best I could that Al would not be put in danger when we tried to bring back Ed. Thankfully, everything went according to my plan."

Izumi looked suspicious. "Your plan?"

He nodded. "We needed something to trade for Ed, a human life most likely, so I made the decision to be that sacrifice."

She could only stare at him in total shock. "You mean…" she managed to say before trailing off.

"When the gate opened, there were all these arms coming after us. I immediately jumped in front of Al, and those arms overtook me while leaving Al alone. That left him free to get Ed while I was dragged across the Gate. Somehow those arms only took my leg, and Al didn't lose anything."

The shock on her face eased up, and she looked away. "I had a son who died before I could give birth to it. I tried using human transmutation to revive it, using the body of my dead child. Instead I created a homunculus, and for that the Gate took some of my internal organs." She turned back towards him. "How did you manage to go through the Gate and keep Al safe?"

"I don't know. I did everything I could to make sure Al wouldn't lose anything more, but in the end, I don't know why those arms left him alone." Roy paused, going through everything in his mind, and suddenly it occurred to him. The Gate said Al had credit. Maybe that credit was from losing all his memories of being in that armor. Perhaps that was why Al was spared.

"I misjudged you," Izumi said, interrupting his thoughts. "I always thought State Alchemists were despicable, willing to use alchemy to kill people. But you were willing to give up your life to bring back someone else, and no person who does that can be called despicable. In fact, I would say you are a very noble person. Please accept my apology."

Roy managed a tiny grin. Couldn't be called despicable, huh? "I too am sorry for acting so harshly against you. I am not at my calmest when it comes to those brothers."

"What do you have Ed and Al do as State Alchemists?" Izumi asked.

"Honestly, most of the time they do whatever they want. I give them some fairly simple, fairly safe assignment, but they usually end up doing more and helping out the place they were sent to. After that, they like to take a long time coming back to Central City, and I usually hear about it from the local authorities. I'm not thrilled that Ed and Al run off so much, but you know how they are."

"So the rumors of him being an alchemist for the people were right. That's not too bad for being a State Alchemist."

Roy smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Izumi looked at him, slightly confused.

"I don't give them random assignments, I give them assignments to places I know they can help, and they never let me down on that."

"Ahh, so you are a scheming State Alchemist after all."

Roy was quite relieved to see that Izumi was smirking.

The next morning, everyone gathered on the porch. Izumi and her husband were about to leave, and everyone had come down to say goodbye to them.

Izumi actually smiled as she spoke to Roy. "If Ed and Al ever give you any trouble, a good body slam should straighten them out in no time."

"I'll be sure to remember that," he replied with a grin. He looked over at Ed and Al, adding, "I'm sure Major Armstrong would be happy to assist me with that."

Ed immediately looked slightly terrified. "You wouldn't dare."

"Why would I not listen to advice from someone who managed to keep you in check?"

Izumi leaned over them, looking especially scary. "You better not cause him any more trouble, otherwise you'll be hearing from me."

"We won't!" both brothers said in unison, still looking terrified.

She turned back to Roy. "I'm glad that we met, even if things got off to a bad start."

"Yes, I am too." They shook hands, and he added, "If you ever want to visit Ed and Al, let me know so I can have them back in Central when you come over."

"I'll be sure to do that." She gave a last wave, then started down the path towards the train station.

"We're screwed," Roy overheard Ed mumble to Al once Izumi was gone. "Now that the Colonel and Izumi are getting along, we'll always have someone breathing down our necks."

Roy turned to them and smirked. "Yes, that would be one way to put it, Ed."

He kept his smirk as Ed growled and did his best to storm back into the house, using Al for support.

"You still need to talk to them," Hawkeye said when everyone else had left.

Suddenly he felt very tired. "Really?" He dreaded that conversation more than anything else in the world.

"You are the adult, thus you should be the reasonable one by putting your feelings aside."

Roy had to grin at that. "I've never been much of an adult, have I?"


	10. Chapter 10: Trust

Chapter 10: Trust

Roy was walking without a crutch now, but it still was slow limping. Pinako said he was making a fast recovery, and should be walking at normal speed in a few weeks.

Which meant he really didn't have that much time left before he had to go back to Central, and that meant he had to talk to Ed sooner rather than later.

Thus, since the budget report he was working on was aggravating his headache, he figured now would be a good time to see what Ed was up to.

When he came downstairs, he saw Ed trying to relearn how to grasp and drink from a glass with his right arm. Al was helping him, but that didn't prevent Ed from spilling the water from the glass just about everywhere.

"Damn it!" Ed yelled when he spilled yet more water on his shirt.

"Don't squeeze the glass too hard, it'll break," Al reminded him.

"How the hell am I supposed to control that? I can barely hold the damn thing!"

Roy figured it was as good a time as it would ever be to start asking questions, and limped over to the table.

"I see you've made progress," he said when he got to the table.

Ed turned, and he managed to scowl even harder. "What do you want?"

"I meant that as a compliment, Ed. You're not the only one adjusting to auto-mail."

His expression lightened, but not by much. "You don't have to deal with relearning how to use an arm."

"That is true." Roy sat down across from Ed and looked at him carefully. "Ed, what happened to you when you were on the other side of the Gate?"

Ed looked at him in shock, and for a second was speechless. "Why do you need to know that?" he finally asked with suspicion.

"You were gone for a long time, that's why."

"Do you remember when I first found you?" Al asked. "You were lying there on the other side of the gate, then I picked you up and brought you back."

Ed looked at his little brother. "Not really. All I remember is waking up by the river, and the limbs I got back were gone again. I told you all of this before, Al, how I got my arm and leg back when you revived me."

"But you haven't told the Colonel."

Roy looked at both of them very carefully. "What exactly is it that you haven't told me?"

They looked at him, and it was Al who finally spoke. "When Ed died-"

Ed cut him off. "I'll tell him, Al. When I went to confront the person behind everything, I remember getting stabbed. Then suddenly I awoke with my arm and leg restored. Somehow Al managed to get them back after all. Then with my restored body I got Al's body back."

It was obvious that Ed was leaving out a few very major points, like how he managed to come back from the dead, but Roy knew that pressing the issue would be useless if Ed didn't want to talk, so he let it pass for now. "At which point you disappeared, correct?"

"I think so," Al replied. "When I came back, Ed was gone."

He paused for a moment in thought. If Ed had his whole body when he disappeared, why were his limbs missing when he came back? Were those limbs payment to get Al's body back? Yet another question for later. "So then my question still stands. Ed, what happened to you while you were on the other side of the Gate, if that is where you were?"

Ed looked at the table, as if he was honestly trying to remember. "I don't know," he finally said. "I…maybe I was somewhere. I don't remember anything, except…" He paused for a moment before continuing. "It's almost like I'm trying to remember a dream that I'm not even sure I had."

It took a second to realize what Ed was saying, but when he did, Roy froze. Ed's memories of what happened to him, they were taken as payment, just like Al's. God damn it! Roy clenched his jaw, trying to hold back his anger. He was supposed to be the one to sacrifice whatever it took to get Ed back, so that those brothers wouldn't loose anything else. And what about Ed's missing limbs? Were those taken too, or were they already gone?

"Is there something wrong?" Al asked, pulling Roy out of his thoughts.

He calmed himself before thinking. "I'm not sure. Either Ed's memories were taken as payment for bringing him back, or else there were no memories to begin with. However, since you lost memories when you returned, Al, I'm guessing Ed did too."

"Memories of what, though?" Ed asked. "Things happened to Al, he had memories to lose. What memories could I have of being on the other side of the Gate?"

There was a short moment of silence before Al spoke. "Maybe your memories will come back, like mine are."

Roy turned to him. Al was still holding on to that idea? "Have you remembered anything more specific lately?"

"Um, not really. Although the feelings I remembered before are getting a little stronger."

Ed smiled weakly. "That's good, Al. Soon you'll remember everything again."

Roy frowned. Ed shouldn't really be encouraging Al to believe in those false memories his mind was making. However, that was for another day. He had plenty to go over for now, and he certainly did not want to get into a fight with Ed or Al. He slowly got up from his chair, and turned to Ed. "Let me know if you ever feel like filling me in on all the things you left out of your story. I'm sure they're very interesting."

He turned away before Ed could scowl back at him.

Roy settled in a chair on the porch outside. It felt amazingly good to be in the sun after spending so much time inside. Once he got comfortable, he set his mind to figuring out what the hell happened to Ed.

He knew Ed went to confront the person controlling the homunculus on the night he disappeared. There was most likely some kind of fight, which resulted in Ed getting stabbed. That made perfect sense. Then Al mentioned Ed dying, and Ed said Al revived him. How in the hell did Al manage to bring Ed back from the dead? Ed's injury would have been too severe for any kind of medical technique, it had to be something else.

Suddenly it hit him. The Philosopher's Stone. Ed said it was made, maybe that was what Al used to revive him. If Al used it right after Ed died, the Philosopher's Stone would've had enough power to bring Ed's soul back and repair the body, even bring back his lost limbs.

Roy smiled. Al really did keep his promise to restore Ed's arm and leg. But then why did Ed trade his body for Al's so soon after Al managed to fix it?

He was about to delve into that mystery when he heard a familiar voice behind him, sounding impatient.

"Edward said you would be out here."

He turned and saw Hawkeye at the doorway, and immediately frowned. So much for avoiding that budget report.

The next day, Roy figured Ed might be willing to share a bit more of what the hell happened that night.

Ed was in his room, doing some walking exercises with Al. Or rather, pushing Al away as he tried to limp around on his own.

"I can do this just fine, Al," Ed said as he tried turning around.

Al looked more than a little exasperated. "Fine, I'll just let you fall down every time you try to go too fast. This might be better for you anyway." He turned around and finally noticed Roy at the door.

"Oh, hi," he said, smiling. "Ed's ignoring Winry's advice about keeping the walking exercising slow, and seems to be determined to fall down as much as possible."

"Shut up, Al," Ed grumbled. Then as if on cue, he lost his balance and toppled forward.

Roy was about to say something, then thought better of it. The more annoyed Ed was, the less likely it would be that he would say what happened that night. So, instead he merely watched as Al helped Ed get up off the floor.

"Ed, what happened the night you disappeared?" he asked once Ed was standing again.

Ed looked at him harshly. "So is this why you brought me back? So you could squeeze all the information you could out of me?"

It seemed like biting his tongue didn't help anything. "No, it's not. If you don't want to tell me what happened, that's fine, I'll ask Al about it later. I'm sure he'll be happy to tell me what he knows."

There was another pause, then Ed got a nasty grin on his face. "All right, I'll tell you what happened to me that night if you tell me what happened to you that night."

"Fair enough." He slowly walked over to the opposite bed and sat down. "After you left, Hawkeye and I drove to the Fuehrer's mansion. I went and hid in the wine cellar while Hawkeye went to the front door to warn everyone that I was planning to attack the mansion. This was to get everyone that wasn't the Fuehrer out of there. As planned, Bradley stayed behind while his family was whisked away. Finally he came down to the wine cellar and after some words I attacked him.

"He almost killed me. He had me pinned to the wall with his sword, slowly cutting me to death. Then his son came in." Roy paused. This was the hardest part. "At first Bradley acted like the good father, but as soon as he saw that his son brought the skull with him, he broke his neck, even as the son was begging his father to stop. When Bradley threw him to the ground, I pulled the sword from my shoulder and ran to the boy. He was already dead, but the skull was still there, so I used that to destroy Bradley. When I left the mansion, one of Bradley's men shot me in the face, that's why I have this scar. Thankfully Hawkeye was there to kill him before he finished me."

He looked carefully at Ed. "The official reports say he ran away. They looked everywhere, but obviously they never found a body. As the only witnesses to the event, Hawkeye and I testified that the Fuehrer ran off when I confronted him with proof of corruption. I would like the government to continue believing this, Ed. You are just the fourth person to know the truth. When I told Al what happened, I made him promise never to tell what he heard to anyone, including you. I would like a similar promise from you."

Ed frowned, with a distant look on his face. "I knew you would finish him off. Fine, if you won't say anything, neither will I."

Roy thought back to all the times he threatened Ed with revealing his secret of human transmutation. Of course Roy would never tell anyone that secret, but Ed didn't know that. Instead, Ed spent almost every waking moment resenting him for threatening to tell, which led to a very hostile Ed. Roy could've lived without the antagonism, but how else was he going to get Ed to do what he wanted?

"Your turn," he continued after a moment. "What happened that night you disappeared?"

"I went to confront that person, like I said I would. Turns out she was a woman who had been living hundreds of years by using the Philosopher's Stone to bind her soul to different bodies. She claimed to keep humans safe by snatching away the Philosopher's Stone as soon as it was made. She was the one who spread the rumors about the Philosopher's Stone being unattainable, so that only the desperate would go after it. Since that left only a very few who attempted to find it, she could manipulate them as she saw fit, then take the stone if they succeeded. I told her she was full of shit, and then we fought. At one point she sent me to the other side of the gate, but then I somehow got back."

"Wait, you mean you were there before?" Roy asked.

Ed nodded. "I don't remember anything from that time, either. All I remember is being sent to the other side of the Gate, and then fighting my way back to this side."

He frowned in thought. There was that question again. Were Ed's memories taken away, or were there simply no memories to begin with? It didn't seem like Ed was on the other side for very long, so perhaps there just wasn't any memories.

"When I came back, Envy, the homunculus who can change his shape, he attacked me, and eventually stabbed me in the chest. Then Al used the Philosopher's stone to revive me."

"How did Al get the Philosopher's Stone?"

Ed looked confused for a second, then seemed to realize something. "Al _was_ the Philosopher's stone."

Roy found himself frowning harder. "How is that possible?"

"That's what happened at Lior. Scar activated the transmutation circle when all the soldiers were in the town, and turned Al into the Philosopher's Stone. That's why we ran away. All the homunculus, as well as the entire military, would be after Al."

So that's why Ed was acting so strange, Roy thought, remembering when they met up near Rizenboul after the Lior incident. Ed was trying to keep the world's largest secret, and Bradley would stop at nothing to get the Philosopher's Stone.

Ed continued. "Since Al used up all of the Philosopher's Stone to bring me back to life, there was nothing left of him when he was done. When I woke up, I knew I had to bring back Al as soon as possible. So I sacrificed my restored body to bring him back."

"That's when I appeared," Al put in. "It was like…I was in the basement of our house, then suddenly I was in this huge ballroom. All my memories of being in that armor were gone, along with Ed."

Roy was silent for a moment as he let his mind digest all that. "What happened to the person controlling the homunculus?" he finally asked.

Ed shrugged. "I don't know. Even if she didn't die then, she'll be dead soon anyway. Her body was rotting away, and she was about to transfer her soul to another body when I got there. Now that she doesn't have the Philosopher's Stone to extend her life, it's just a matter of time before she rots away. I figure it'll be sooner rather than later, too."

Well, that was good news, at least. No more puppet master to screw humanity over for her own gain. Although that probably wasn't the last of the homunculus. There would always be people stupid enough to try and revive the dead, now what would happen to their mistakes?

But that question would have to be resolved later. "It seems we've both been through a lot, but at least everything turned out fairly well in the end," Roy said, then left the room without waiting for a reply.

He returned to his room, heading straight to the window to let himself mull over what he just heard from Ed and Al.

"All that because someone couldn't stand the idea of dying," Roy said to himself as he looked out over the countryside. Then again, how much better was he? He came way too close to attempting to revive Maes through human transmutation, even though he knew it would never work. Ed and Al missed their dead mother so much that they tried to revive her. That ended in disaster. Even now, Roy did everything he could to bring back Ed, because he couldn't stand the idea of him being gone forever.

"Alchemists really are such sick living things." With a frown, he turned and started in on the work Hawkeye left. He needed the distraction more than anything, and there wasn't enough alcohol in the house to get properly drunk.

A week later Roy, Ed, and Al found themselves home alone. Pinako and Winry had to make a house call on the other side of the village to fix up some auto-mail, and wouldn't be back until that evening. Hawkeye was in Central, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow at the earliest.

Roy figured this would be a good time to have another chat or two with Ed and Al, since there wouldn't be the usual yelling by Winry about Ed's rehab, or Hawkeye pushing more work on him. It would just be the three of them, forced to fend for themselves.

That morning Roy decided to lie out on the grass for a while. He couldn't stand being in his room any longer, and it had been way too long since he'd been more than twenty feet from the house.

After a long while Den came up to him, giving him a sniff before lying down next to him.

"Hello Den," Roy said as he brought up an arm to pet the dog. "Do you realize I've been lying here for who knows how long, doing absolutely nothing? Not even thinking, just lying here staring at the sky and getting my nose sunburned."

He looked at the dog and rubbed his ears before continuing. "How do you stay sane here? I've been incredibly bored for a long time now, and it doesn't look like things will be getting better any time soon. Then again, being stuck in the same room ever since I got here probably has something to do with it."

Roy sighed and decided to change the subject. "There's a dog I know that I'm sure you'd get along great with. He's Hawkeye's dog, Black Hurricane. She calls him Blackie for short. Extremely well trained dog, although considering his master, that's not surprising. Perhaps I should get her to bring him down here so you two could meet." He gave Den another pat, and wondered how Blackie was doing. Hawkeye said she gave him to Havoc while she was out of town, and Roy had to smile at the thought of those two together. He wasn't quite sure who to feel sorry for the most.

A few minutes later there was a shout coming from the house.

"Colonel!"

Roy looked up and saw Al standing on the porch.

"Auntie Pinako left some soup for us," Al said once he got Roy's attention. "I can heat it up for lunch if you want."

He sat up from his spot on the grass. "That's fine, I'll be there in a few minutes."

Really, if it were up to him, Roy would simply let things go on as they were. Ed could continue to hate him forever for all he cared. More to the point, talking to Ed about trust was the last thing on earth Roy wanted to do.

However, the Lior incident revealed that Ed didn't trust him nearly as much as Roy would have liked, and that bothered him. Also, it was obvious that Ed was way too stubborn to let go of his grudges, which really only left one option.

He and Ed, along with Al, had to have a not-so-little talk.

Thus, after lunch and before Ed could escape the room, Roy figured this would be the best chance he'd have in a long, long time.

"Ed, why do you think I brought you back?" he asked.

This immediately put Ed in a bad mood, if he wasn't in one before. "How the hell should I know? You probably want to manipulate us again and do all your dirty work for you." He broke into a nasty grin and added, "But that won't work anymore, because now I have something on you."

Roy shrugged. "If it's easier for you to believe that, feel free to continue hating me."

Ed's grin immediately disappeared. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, I think you have a good idea what it means."

"The Colonel didn't bring you back so he could threaten you again," Al said to his brother. "If he did, why did he tell us about how he killed the Fuehrer? He can't threaten us if we can threaten to tell his secret, too."

Ed lowered his head, as if he were deep in thought.

"There are two reasons why I brought you back, Ed," Roy finally said. "The first reason was because Al would give up anything to have you back, so I felt I should help him. The second reason was that I wanted you back."

"Why did you want me back?" Ed said quietly.

Roy paused. Might as well start from the beginning. "Why do you think I suggested you become a State Alchemist?"

Ed looked up, frowning. "I don't know, maybe because you saw how good we were at alchemy and thought the military could use us?"

"No, that's not the reason." He silently took a deep breath before he began. Ed certainly wasn't making things any easier. "When I went to Risenboul on that night six years ago, I saw two children who had just lost the few things they had left in a desperate attempt to bring back their mother. I wanted to help them, to watch over them so they wouldn't lose anything else. Adopting them outright wasn't an option, thus the only real way I could do that is if they were under my command."

He looked at Ed carefully. "The reason I wanted you to become a State Alchemist was so that I could protect you and help you in any way I could." He turned to Al and added, "The same goes for you, Al. Gaining access to your brother's files was just a cover."

Ed replied before his brother could say anything. "If you were so intent on looking after us, why did you act like such an asshole?" he asked, full of anger.

"You already know that, Ed. Besides, I don't think I was especially mean to you."

Ed couldn't hold it in any longer. "You bastard! I hate you!" He knocked over the chair and grabbed Al, using him as a support in order to get out of the house as fast as he could.

Roy watched as the two made it outside. Things were just getting started.

He really didn't want to sit there until Ed came back, since that was probably going to take at least an hour, so he got up and slowly climbed the stairs to his room. Having round two in his space might be a little unfair, but he figured things had moved way past being fair. Thus he sat on his bed with his back on the headboard, picking up and flipping through a file Hawkeye left for him as he waited.

Within a minute Roy put down the file, rolling his eyes at just how long winded certain generals could be. Now that any thoughts he had of working were killed, he started thinking about what Ed had said earlier, about not remembering anything from the gate.

Ed had a point. What was there for him to remember, anyway? For all Roy knew, Ed was completely unconscious while he was on the other side of the Gate. Thus, there were no memories for him to lose. It certainly was a reasonable explanation.

However, Roy wasn't convinced that was what happened. Ed said something about trying to remember a dream that he wasn't sure he even had. If there was absolutely nothing for Ed to remember, why did he mention that he felt he was someplace, even if it was a vague feeling?

The Gate mentioned that Al had credit, most likely from losing his memories from the time he was in that armor. Roy obviously lost his leg. If the pattern held, that meant Ed would have lost something, too. It could be the restored limbs Al managed to get back, but Roy had a feeling that was what Ed gave up to bring Al back. Which left Ed's memories.

Roy cursed under his breath. Once again his plan wasn't perfect. Ed went somewhere while he was on the other side of the Gate, and there was absolutely no way to ever know what that place was.

A few hours later Ed finally came back, with Al seemingly pushing him from behind. The two sat down on the bed next to Roy's.

"What happened that night you brought me back?" Ed asked.

"As soon as everyone went upstairs to bed, I took a knife from the kitchen and went to my room. Once there, I carved the necessary alchemy arrays on my arms, legs, and chest, then waited for Al. When he finally came, we took some paint and went down to the river, where we drew the transmutation circle. We activated it, and managed to bring you back."

Ed looked like he had just been punched in the gut. "You, you drew the arrays on yourself. You knew what might happen, yet you did it anyway."

"Of course. I certainly didn't want Al to lose anything more."

Ed started yelling, his voice full of anger. "Why are you telling me this! What do you want from me!"

"I don't want anything from you, Ed."

"What do you mean you don't want anything in return!"

"It means just that. I don't want anything in return."

"Quit being so goddamn smug, you bastard!" Then, as if to illustrate his anger, Ed punched the nightstand next to him, smashing it to the ground.

Roy let a moment go by before speaking. "I'm not trying to be smug, I'm just trying to answer your questions."

Ed didn't reply, instead lowering his head as if deep in thought. There was silence after that, as Roy patiently waited for Ed to sort things out in his head. Al was also watching his brother, with a worried look on his face.

It was a long time before Ed spoke, and when he did, he kept his head down. "I hated you so much, all I wanted to do was punch you in the face. But all this time you were trying to help us."

"Don't blame yourself for hating me. Even though I wasn't especially rude to you, I wasn't especially nice to you, either."

It was another long pause before Ed spoke again. "On that night I disappeared, you told me that in order to achieve your goal, you had to take all evil into yourself. You were telling me that in order to get to the top, you had to act like the biggest son of a bitch the military had ever seen. Which meant you couldn't act like you cared about us."

Roy nodded. "That sums it up fairly well. I hoped you would see that I was trying to help you. Al managed to catch on to some degree, but you never did. You paid too much attention to what I said and how I did things, and you were too stubborn to let go of your first impressions. I don't blame you for that either, since I also have a hard time getting past my first impression of people."

He let a moment go before adding, "I don't care if you hate me, Ed. I never did, and I never will. But I would like it if you trusted me more."

"What do you think, Al? Do you think we can trust him?"

"Of course we can."

Ed looked at Roy, and with a sly grin he asked, "If we trust you, will you trust us?"

"I always did." Roy paused for a second, then smiled. He held out his hand, just like he did that night when Ed disappeared.

Ed hesitated at first, giving him an unsure look. Finally he gave in, and the two shook hands.

Roy then turned to Al. "You too, Al. You're also a part of this."

At first, Al looked surprised at the gesture, but that quickly gave way, and he shook Roy's hand with a smile.

"There's one last thing," Roy said once they were done shaking hands. "Al, could you fix the nightstand using alchemy?"

Al gave him a curious look. "Okay, let me get some chalk."

"Without any chalk."

"That's right," Ed spoke up, turning to his brother, "You've seen the Gate, Al. You can use alchemy with just your hands. Here, let me show you."

He clapped his hands, and touched the nightstand. Blue sparks erupted from the surface, and a second later, the stand was back to its original condition.

Roy watched with some sense of accomplishment as Al tried out his new ability on just about everything. The greatest alchemy ability in the world, almost free of charge.

"This means you can do it too, right Colonel?" Al asked once he changed most things back to normal.

Roy thought for a moment. "Let's go outside, and be sure to bring some matches." He got up from the bed, and had to smirk when he saw Ed roll his eyes.

The sun had just set once all three of them came outside. Roy directed Al to make a little pile of firewood several yards away from the house.

"The Colonel is going to show you why he's called the Flame Alchemist," Ed said with some sarcasm once Al was done.

Roy had to smirk at that. "At least I'm not making Al the running target. Then again, I never was aiming directly at you."

Ed looked surprised for just a moment, then went back to frowning. "Light the match, Al," he almost growled.

Al lit the match, and Roy clapped his hands. Red sparks came from them, and almost immediately the pile of wood was engulfed in flames.

"That's amazing!" Al exclaimed as the fire crackled.

Even Ed looked a little impressed. "I didn't know you were that fast."

Roy looked at him and smirked. "I was always that fast, Ed, perhaps you just never noticed." He turned back to the fire, which was growing brighter as the evening grew darker. His smirk turned into a genuine smile as he realized just how very beautiful flames could be.


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

A month later, Ed, Al, Roy, Hawkeye, and the Rockbells were standing on the small train platform.

"You better write more often," Winry said as she gave Ed a very threatening look. "At least Al wrote to me once in a while when he was away."

"Okay, I will!"

"Don't worry, if Ed slacks off, I'll be sure to write," Al said in an oddly cheerful voice.

Ed gave him a dirty look. "I don't slack off!"

"Then why is it I always have to get you going to do things?"

As the argument went on, Roy stopped paying attention to them and turned back to the train schedule. Sighing, he realized it would take a longer time than usual to get to Central. So much for an easy train ride.

"Four tickets to Eastburg, then on to Central City," Roy said to the man behind the ticket window.

"So you're finally moving your family to Central, huh?" the man said as he got the tickets ready.

"My what!"

"Your family. Isn't that your wife and two sons over there?" he said, pointing to Ed and Al, who were now standing by Hawkeye and asking her something.

This was perhaps the third time in Roy's life that he was struck completely dumbfounded. Family? Wife? Kids? What the hell? The thought actually scared him. Make that terrified him.

"Um, no, not really," Roy finally managed to reply in a voice that sounded much more shaken than he wanted it to, then quickly paid for the tickets and got the hell out of there.

"Is anything wrong, sir?" Hawkeye asked when he returned.

"Oh, no, it was nothing," Roy replied, quickly regaining his composure.

After a moment Al spoke up. "So what happens when we get to Central City?"

"The first thing I'm going to do is go home and unpack. We won't get into Central until late, so there's no use going to Headquarters until the next day."

"What about us? Will we still stay with you?"

"We'll be fine in the dorms, Al." Ed replied almost immediately.

"Don't you think Al should decide for himself where to stay?" Roy asked in a somewhat gentle voice.

Ed looked at him, as if he wasn't quite sure if he should be angry or not. Finally his face softened slightly before turning back to Al. "All right, Al, where do you want to stay?"

"You know, Ed, it really wasn't that bad at the Colonel's house. He had plenty of alchemy books, and he always made me dinner."

"I'm surprised you're still alive after eating his cooking for so long."

"Al never complained about the food," Roy retorted.

"Well, it wasn't exactly the best, Colonel," Al admitted, looking sheepish.

Roy frowned. Okay, so he wasn't especially good at cooking, but that was completely beside the point. "So, Al, where do you want to stay? I'm assuming Ed wants to stay in the military dorms, like he did before."

"Then I'll stay there too, especially now since I'm also a State Alchemist."

"Then everything's settled." Roy let out a small sigh of relief. His house wouldn't have lasted two weeks with the three of them under one roof. Ed wasn't ready for that kind of closeness, and quite frankly, Roy wasn't sure if he was, either.

After several more minutes, the train finally pulled into the tiny station. Ed and Al said their final goodbyes to Winry and Pinako, then followed Roy and Hawkeye as they boarded the train.

"Don't forget to visit once in a while!" Winry yelled out as the train pulled away.

"We won't!" Al yelled out in return.

A few hours into the train ride, Ed brought out a deck of cards and started dealing hands to Al and himself. As he watched them play card games, Roy realized that he wouldn't mind it at all if the three of them were able to one day tolerate each other enough to live in the same house.

"A family, huh," he mumbled to himself.

"Did you say something, sir?" Hawkeye asked, looking up from her book.

"No, it was nothing." Roy turned to the window and smiled as he watched the countryside go by.

Nothing yet, anyway.

3


End file.
